Sour grapes worth $13m

A FEDERAL jury in Los Angeles has awarded John Steinbeck’s stepdaughter more than $13 million in a lawsuit claiming the author’s son and daughter-in-law impeded film adaptations of the novelist’s classic works.

Waverly Scott Kaffaga alleged that litigation over Steinbeck’s estate prevented her from making the most of his copyrights at a time when marquee names such as director Steven Spielberg and actor Jennifer Lawrence were interested in bringing his masterpieces, including The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden, back to the screen.