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Case file s233 · Literature and art · 1968
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1968
John Steinbeck: John Steinbeck 1939 (cropped)
John Steinbeck. McFadden Publications, Inc.; no photographer credited; photo likely the work of Sonya Nosk. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.
Died
20 December 1968
Place
New York · United States
Field
novelist · Literature and writing on the timeline
Legal tradition
US copyright termination law; California federal court · Common law
Historical event
Hollywood remakes of classic novels
Religion
John Steinbeck: Atheist and agnostic, Protestant and Anglican (recorded as agnosticism on Wikidata; 20th-century American Episcopalians, American agnostics on Wikipedia)
Member of
American Academy of Arts and Letters, PEN America (Wikidata)
Literature and artPostwarNorth AmericaUnited States

A jury awarded John Steinbeck's stepdaughter more than $13 million against his son's family for blocking films of his novels

Steinbeck left his copyrights to his third wife, Elaine†. His sons, Thom and John IV, received smaller bequests†. Elaine and Thom fought for decades over control of the works. In 2006 Thom and a granddaughter won a ruling in their bid to reclaim rights under US copyright termination law†; an appeals court reversed it in 2008†. Elaine died in Manhattan on 27 April 2003, aged 88. She named her daughter, Waverly Scott Kaffaga, as executor. Thom died on 11 August 2016. In September 2017 a federal jury in Los Angeles awarded Kaffaga more than $13 million. Her suit claimed that Steinbeck's son and daughter-in-law had impeded film adaptations of his classic works. The daughter-in-law is Gail Knight Steinbeck†. The verdict included punitive damages†. The blocked projects included new film versions of The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden†. The defence said it would appeal†.

What the law took from it

A will that leaves copyrights to a second spouse and not the children invites a family war over every film deal.

Sources
  1. usatoday.comPress
  2. The New York TimesPress
  3. The Washington PostPress
  4. Wikipedia (English)Encyclopedia

Cite as: celebrity.estate, “A jury awarded John Steinbeck's stepdaughter more than $13 million against his son's family for blocking films of his novels,” story s233, https://www.celebrity.estate/john-steinbeck-1968, updated 30 October 2026.

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Where this case sits

Literature and artPostwarNorth AmericaCommon lawUnited States