A Texas judge denied a motion by the late Selena's husband Chris Perez to dismiss Abraham... [+]
The father of late Tejano star Selena has scored a legal victory in his battle to block a television series based on the unauthorized book To Selena With Love, written by her husband Chris Perez.
In December, Abraham Quintanilla, Jr. filed a lawsuit against Perez, his production company Blue Mariachi and Endemol Shine North America to stop production of the series, stating that only Selena’s estate has the right to her name, image and to author or “commercially exploit” a book, film or TV movie about her life.
Perez hit back with a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in January, but Texas Judge Guy Williams rejected it today, siding with Selena’s father. That means Quintanilla's lawsuit against Perez will move forward.
The suit alleges Perez, married to Selena from 1992 until her death, violated an estate agreement he signed two months after the singer’s murder in 1995, which stipulates Quintanilla is the exclusive rights holder of all rights to Selena’s name, voice, photographs, her story and other rights in perpetuity.
Quintanilla’s attorneys argue Perez breached the contract by writing an unauthorized book about his romance with Selena and signing a deal with Endemol Shine North America to produce a television series for profit, ignoring the terms of the 1995 agreement.
After the hearing, Eric S. Medina, an attorney for Perez, sent this statement via email: “The Court has not yet entered a written order concerning today’s ruling on our client’s initial motion and as such we are not yet in a position to yet to properly comment. Nevertheless, an adverse ruling on this preliminary procedural motion does not impact the larger issues in our clients’ case which will be vigorously defended and prosecuted.”
A representative for Endemol would not comment on today’s ruling.
Attorney Simran Singh, who represents the Quintanilla family, says they’re all pleased with today’s outcome. “The family is very happy. We certainly agree with the Judge's well-reasoned Ruling. There is no date set yet for trial. We intend on moving the case forward to vindicate our client's rights.”
