A dispute over the estate of late Tejano star Selena Quintanilla has moved into a United States court, with her brother A.B. Quintanilla III suing his sister Suzette Quintanilla Arriaga and her company Q Productions. The lawsuit, filed Thursday (Sept. 10), accuses the defendants of breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty over profits from Selena’s music and other intellectual property.
Lawsuit details#
The filing states A.B. is seeking unspecified financial damages and believes he is owed more than $1 million. It follows an Instagram post last week in which he said he would sue over “years of accumulated situations, decisions and circumstances.”
The court papers say the dispute concerns how profits from Selena’s estate, including her music and other intellectual property rights, are divided among the family. After Selena’s death in 1995, the Quintanilla family signed an agreement organizing the estate’s finances.
A.B. alleges the agreement entitles him to a 25% share of proceeds from Q Productions, the company founded by his late father Abraham Quintanilla Jr. and now run by Suzette.
He claims he discovered in spring 2025, months before Abraham’s death, that he had not been receiving all profits due under the 1995 deal. He says he asked Suzette for the Q Productions balance sheet and a full accounting of royalties and licensing fees, but she refused.
“The amount due to Plaintiff cannot be fully determined without an accounting because Defendants possess or control material information concerning the entertainment properties, the income generated from them, expenses attributed to them, and distributions made from their net profits,” the lawsuit states. “Plaintiff seeks recovery of actual damages in an amount within the jurisdictional limits of this Court, including unpaid distributions, net profits, proceeds, interest, and other damages established through discovery and accounting.”
Attorney and family response#
A.B.’s attorney, Jeff Lehrman, said in an Instagram video last week that Selena’s brother was a producer and songwriter on “some of the most iconic music that she ever made.”
“Unfortunately, he has not gotten credit for that financially and has not received what he should as a result of his contributions,” Lehrman said. “In addition to that, he’s also a beneficiary of the estate. So regardless of his role as a producer, he’s entitled to income, and he’s entitled to very basic accounting.”
Suzette and her lawyer did not immediately return a request for comment on the lawsuit Thursday. In a previous Instagram statement, Suzette and her mother Marcella Quintanilla said, “There was no theft by Suzette.”
“We love A.B.,” the statement read. “He is our son and brother. But loving someone does not require us to accept false accusations or remain silent while the reputations of Suzette, Abraham and our family are called into question. We will continue to protect our family, Abraham’s memory, Selena’s memory and the truth.”
