Ed and Lorraine Warren, the Connecticut paranormal investigators behind the Amityville case and the source material for the Conjuring film franchise, have been tied to a long string of lawsuits and legal disputes. The cases include a $900 million copyright fight over the franchise, a negligence suit by the owners of the real Harrisville farmhouse, a family member’s suit over a book about a Connecticut exorcism, sworn abuse allegations filed in the franchise litigation, and a zoning fine against the Warren Occult Museum. Together they trace how the Warrens’ stories generated fame, money, and, repeatedly, court filings.
The $900 Million Conjuring Copyright Suit
The largest legal battle in the Warrens’ orbit is Brittle v. Warner Bros., filed in 2016 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Gerald Brittle, author of the 1980 book The Demonologist, sought roughly $900 million from Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema.1Deadline. Conjuring Lawsuit Settled Between Warner Bros and New Line
Brittle’s theory turned on a 1978 contract with the Warrens. He said the agreement made him and the Warrens co-owners of the book’s copyright and barred the Warrens from contracting works based on the same subject, defined as their “lives and experiences as paranormal investigators.”2The Hollywood Reporter. Warner Bros Facing $900 Million Lawsuit Over Conjuring Franchise On that reading, the Warrens had no right to license the case files that became The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2, and the Annabelle spinoffs.
In August 2017, the court refused to dismiss the copyright claim, finding that the films “plausibly copy some original elements from the book.” Several other claims fell out at that stage.3Loeb & Loeb. Brittle v. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Case No. 3:16-cv-00908-JAG
The suit never reached trial. In December 2017, Brittle dismissed the case with prejudice and, in a joint statement, said “filing this lawsuit was a mistake, and that New Line has no liability and did nothing wrong.” No payment from the studio was publicly disclosed.4The Hollywood Reporter. Warner Bros Settles $900M Lawsuit Over Conjuring
The DeRosa-Grund Twist
The dismissal came alongside a striking admission. Brittle filed a declaration stating that producer Tony DeRosa-Grund “has been controlling this Litigation from the start,” funding the case, hiring the attorneys, and directing discovery. DeRosa-Grund denied that account and said Brittle was contractually entitled to legal financing under a 2015 agreement between them. A Texas judge ordered a forensic examination of DeRosa-Grund’s devices and email accounts to look at whether evidence of his control had been destroyed.1Deadline. Conjuring Lawsuit Settled Between Warner Bros and New Line
The Harrisville Farmhouse Owners Sue Warner Bros.
The Warrens’ real-world cases created legal problems for the people who ended up living in the houses. In October 2015, Norma Sutcliffe and Gerald Helfrich, owners of the Harrisville, Rhode Island farmhouse where the Warrens investigated the Perron family in the 1970s, sued Warner Bros., New Line, director James Wan, and several individual trespassers in Rhode Island Superior Court.5The Guardian. The Conjuring Rhode Island Lawsuit Against Warner Brothers
The couple said that since the 2013 release of The Conjuring, their property had been in a “state of siege.” Some visitors reportedly brought tools to force entry; others posted the homeowners’ private information online and threatened to destroy the house.6ABC News. Owners of Home Movie The Conjuring Based On Sue Warner Bros The complaint sounded in negligence, arguing that the film’s “true story” marketing pinned the events to an identifiable Harrisville home. Sutcliffe said she wanted to “get it out that this stuff is made up.”7Boston Globe. Rhode Island Couple Sues Warner Bros Over The Conjuring The public outcome has not been widely reported.
The Glatzel Family and The Devil in Connecticut
One lawsuit went directly at Lorraine Warren. It grew out of the 1981 “Demon Murder Trial,” in which Arne Cheyenne Johnson stabbed and killed his landlord, Alan Bono, in Brookfield, Connecticut. Johnson’s attorney, Martin Minnella, tried to argue that a demon had transferred into Johnson from a young boy named David Glatzel during an exorcism attended by the Warrens. Judge Robert Callahan barred the possession defense, ruling that such claims could not be scientifically or objectively proven. Johnson was convicted of first-degree manslaughter and sentenced to 10 to 20 years, serving five.8University of Virginia Law Library. Arne Cheyenne Johnson
Gerald Brittle and the Warrens later published The Devil in Connecticut about the case. When the book was reprinted in 2006, David’s brother Carl Glatzel sued Brittle and Lorraine Warren, alleging invasion of privacy, false information, and public ridicule. Glatzel called the possession story a “phony story… to get rich and famous at our expense.” Lorraine Warren said the exorcism was legitimate and that six Catholic priests participated. The case was dismissed.9Newstimes. Brookfield Man Sues Over Demon Book10NY1. Brother of Boy Possessed Resents Retelling in Conjuring
Judith Penney’s Sworn Declaration
Some of the most serious allegations against Ed Warren surfaced not in a suit Penney filed, but as part of the Conjuring franchise disputes. In a sworn declaration filed in November 2014, Judith Penney said she had lived in the Warrens’ Connecticut home for roughly four decades. She alleged that Ed Warren began a sexual relationship with her when she was 15 and he was in his mid-30s, and that Lorraine Warren was aware of it.11The Hollywood Reporter. The War Over The Conjuring: Disturbing Claims Behind a Billion-Dollar Franchise
Penney further stated that she became pregnant with Ed Warren’s child in May 1978 and that Lorraine pressured her into an abortion to protect the couple’s public image. She said Ed was physically abusive toward Lorraine, and that she once saw him strike his wife hard enough to knock her unconscious. Penney also said she was arrested in 1963 in connection with the relationship, spent a night in jail, and was ordered to report to a delinquent youth office for a month after refusing to sign a statement about the affair.12All That’s Interesting. Ed and Lorraine Warren Abuse Allegations
Penney never brought her own lawsuit. Her account entered the record through a 2015 letter from attorney Sanford Dow to New Line’s outside counsel, proposing a $150,000 payment for her life rights and a confidentiality agreement as part of resolving the broader Brittle and DeRosa-Grund disputes. The settlement did not happen. Lorraine Warren’s attorney said the family had no knowledge of the alleged conduct, and Warner Bros. and New Line called the introduction of these claims a tactic by “disgruntled” parties trying to sabotage the franchise.11The Hollywood Reporter. The War Over The Conjuring: Disturbing Claims Behind a Billion-Dollar Franchise
The Amityville Suits
The Warrens’ credibility was tested in court decades before the Conjuring films. Their late-1970s involvement in the Amityville case brought them national attention, and it also produced litigation that cut against the haunting claims. William Weber, the defense attorney for convicted murderer Ronald DeFeo Jr., gave sworn testimony that he and the Lutz family “concocted the story of the demonic house over several bottles of wine.” Weber told the Associated Press: “We created this horror story over many bottles of wine… We were creating something that the public wanted to hear.”13ABC Australia. The Amityville Horror
Weber then sued the Lutzes for $2 million, saying he had been cut out of the book deal. Later owners of the Amityville house also sued the Lutzes, author Jay Anson, and the publishers, alleging fraudulent claims that drew trespassers to their property. The Warrens, brought in by the Lutzes as “demonologists” after an earlier investigator threatened to expose the story as a hoax, were not named as defendants in those suits, but the record left behind cast public doubt on the case that made them famous.13ABC Australia. The Amityville Horror
The Warren Occult Museum Zoning Fine
After Lorraine Warren’s death in 2019, her son-in-law Tony Spera took over the Warren Occult Museum, which housed about 750 artifacts, including the Annabelle doll. The museum sat in a residential neighborhood in Monroe, Connecticut, where a commercial museum is not a permitted use.
In 2017, Zoning Enforcement Officer Joe Chapman issued a cease and desist order. The Zoning Board of Appeals then found the operation in violation and imposed a $13,500 fine on Spera, plus $150 per day for continued noncompliance. Spera said he had stopped giving tours, added security, and was looking for a new location.14The Monroe Sun. No Trespassing Signs, Fines Used to Ward Off Curious Souls in Search of Warrens Occult Museum