Manhattan prosecutors have dropped all criminal charges against three men accused of selling stolen handwritten lyrics from the Eagles' 'Hotel California'.

The decision was made after an unexpected release of 6,000 pages of communication between Eagles co-founder Don Henley and his lawyers, which may have impacted the case.

The defendants were accused of knowingly selling about 100 pages of stolen legal-pad pages linked to the development of the 'Hotel California' album.

Don Henley testified he never authorized anyone to keep or sell the lyric pages and had reported them stolen once they surfaced in the marketplace.

The case dismissal has prompted Don Henley's lawyer to assert they will continue to pursue legal action in civil court.

The defendants' legal team has expressed dissatisfaction with the district attorney's handling of the case and is considering further legal options.

The judge suggested that there was manipulation in the case, with misuse of attorney-client privilege hindering transparency.

The lyrics in question were sold to one of the defendants for $50,000 in 2005, and following the criminal case dismissal, Henley's attorney plans to seek civil court actions.