Selena's Brother Says He Is Suing Their Sister Over Her Estate

Caption: A.B. Quintanilla in 2022. Credit: A.B. Quintanilla / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

A.B. Quintanilla, the brother and principal songwriter behind Selena Quintanilla’s recordings, said publicly in early September that he intends to take legal action against his sister Suzette Quintanilla over the singer’s estate. Suzette serves as executor of the estate and runs Q Productions, the family company in Nueces County, Texas. Selena died in 1995 at 23, and her catalog and likeness have generated income for three decades.

What His Attorney Says Is Coming

Attorney Jeff Lehrman said on September 5 that the suit had not yet been filed and would be filed the following week. He said the case will seek A.B.’s unpaid distributions, income and earnings, along with a full accounting of the estate, and alleged that it could reveal fiduciary breaches by Suzette. Lehrman said his client served Suzette, as executor, with several demand letters last year requesting an accounting and distributions.

What He Posted

A.B. wrote that he does not lie and said Suzette and her attorneys received notice of the lawsuit by certified mail and email. He said she responded but did not provide what was requested, which he described as contracts, documentation and financial information. He did not release a case number, a court or a jurisdiction.

What His Sister and Niece Say

Suzette Quintanilla and her daughter Marcella disputed that a lawsuit exists and rejected the allegations outright. They said Suzette has not stolen or misappropriated money or property from family members or from the businesses, and said that if A.B. has evidence of any misappropriation he should present it. Neither side has publicly produced the certified mail notice or the underlying legal documents.

The Figure Nobody Has Confirmed

A 48 million dollar valuation has circulated in coverage of the dispute, traceable to a report by journalist Javier Ceriani. A.B. has not confirmed that number, his attorney did not cite it, and no filing has been produced that contains it. Until a petition is on a docket, the amount at issue is a reported figure and not a claimed one.

References: A.B. Quintanilla Attorney Jeff Lehrman Says Lawsuit Against Selena Estate Is Coming Next Week | A.B. Quintanilla Responds to Suzette and Marcella, Says Lawsuit Notice Was Sent by Certified Mail and Email | A.B. Quintanilla shows legal papers after Suzette Quintanilla denies lawsuit