3News got a look Monday at the court document detailing a lawsuit filed by Selena's father against her former husband Chris Perez. The lawsuit involves a proposed new TV show based on their love story.
The entire lawsuit comes down to an agreement signed over a decade ago in May of 1995 called the Estate Properties Agreement. While both Quintanilla and Perez are named with rights in that agreement, Quintanilla said a TV show he did not initiate is a breach of that original contract.
The lawsuit claims Perez and a California production company called Endemol Latino violated contract agreements signed in 1995. The suit is for $1 million.
The agreement in question states "proprietary rights in the name, voice, signature, photograph, and likeness of Selena" be owned by Abraham Quintanilla himself, while Perez receives 25-percent of the net profits from the exploitation of the entertainment properties.
The suit claims "Perez materially breached the Estate Properties Agreement through the unauthorized exploitation of a book entitled 'To Selena with Love,' in which the book's cover includes a photograph of Selena." Quintanilla claims Perez violated that contract by entering into an agreement with Endemol Latino to make a TV series based off of the unathorized book, and asked them to stop any activity or production of the show.
The suit says Endemol Latino refused to stop production, stating their agreement with Perez is based off of a different contract, but Quintanilla says Perez has no right entering into a different contract separate from the Estate Properties Agreement.
3News reached out to both attorney's representing Quintanilla in the lawsuit as well as the Quintanilla family. Our calls were not returned.