Selena‘s brother, A.B. Quintanilla III, has filed a $1 million lawsuit against his sister, Suzette Quintanilla Arriaga. The lawsuit was filed in Nueces County, Texas, on Thursday, September 10.
RELATED: Prayers Up! Abraham Quintanilla, Father Of Late Singer Selena, Passes Away At 86
Selena’s Brother Files $1 Million Lawsuit Against Sister Suzette
A.B. Quintanilla III filed a $1 million lawsuit against his sister, Suzette, on Thursday in Texas, according to KSAT. Selena was murdered by a fan and former employee, Yolanda Saldívar, back in 1995, and A.B. claims he’s being denied his 25-percent share of her estate. The siblings rose to fame with their sister as musicians in their Tejano band, Selena y Los Dinos.
The lawsuit contends that an “Estate Properties Agreement” was signed by the family following the singer’s death. Quintanilla claims two companies run by the pair’s late father, Abraham Quintanilla Jr. — Q Production, Inc. and Q Productions — are now run by Suzette. He claims that his sister slowly began taking over back in 2016, and subsequently, he was underpaid.
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A.B. claims he noticed the alleged underpayments back in the spring of 2025 and asked for a full accounting report from Suzette. The complaint states that the defendants refused to provide the complete report, and he’s suing for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty in the amount of $1 million. In addition, he is also asking for lawyer fees and a jury trial.
The musician first announced his intent in both English and Spanish with a post on Instagram on Tuesday, Sept. 1.
Suzette Quintanilla Responds In Joint Statement With Marcella Quintanilla
After his initial statement on Sept. 1, Suzette reacted to her brother’s claims with an official statement on Instagram the following day. Furthermore, her mother, Marcella Quintanilla, co-signed the statement, and they denied A.B.’s claim.
“We have seen A.B.’s recent public statement,” reads the statement “Because it contains serious and false insinuations concerning Suzette, Abraham, and our family, we feel it is necessary to correct the record.”
“Marcella has never before felt the need to publicly address private family matters. She is doing so now because statements involving her late husband, her daughter, and her family should not be allowed to stand when they are false. A.B. states that there is a lawsuit involving Suzette and that a legal process began several months ago. Suzette has never been served with any lawsuit. She has received no court-filed complaint, summons, petition, or other legal pleading concerning the allegations A.B. is describing….. What lawsuit? Where was it filed? What is the case number? A.B. also refers repeatedly to ‘years’ of family circumstances, ‘facts,’ and ‘evidence’ while making serious insinuations concerning Suzette, his father, and this family. Those insinuations are false. There was no theft by Suzette. Suzette has not stolen, misappropriated, or improperly taken money or property belonging to A.B., Abraham, Marcella, Chris, Selena’s estate, or any family-owned or jointly owned business.”
The Sept. 2 statement also noted that “Suzette is not selling, and has no intention of selling” the late singer’s personal belongings. They also said they were “unaware of any wrongdoing by Abraham” that supports what A.B. claims. Not only that, but they said words like “‘facts’ and ‘evidence’ have meaning.”
“If A.B. has evidence that Suzette stole or misappropriated anything, he should present it….. We love A.B. 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 legacy, and the truth. – Marcella Quintanilla and Suzette Quintanilla”
An early report from The Los Angeles Times said it was not able to find any lawsuit in Nueces County, Texas related to Suzette. However, as mentioned, KSAT reports the filing date as September 10, 2026.
A.B. Quintanilla III Doubles Down In Follow-Up Post
Selena’s brother shared another post on Wednesday, September 2. on Instagram, and he told Suzette, “DON’T LIE” in all capital letters. He also shared the post in Spanish and claimed that his sister was notified, despite her claim otherwise.
“DON’T LIE SUZETTE AND HER LAWYERS WERE NOTIFIED WITH THE CORRESPONDING DOCUMENTS VIA CERTIFIED MAIL AND ELECTRONIC MAIL,” he wrote. “SHE WAS NOTIFIED OF A LAWSUIT RELATED TO HER FIDUCIARY DUTIES, THAT IS, HER LEGAL OBLIGATIONS TO ACT WITH LOYALTY, TRANSPARENCY AND IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THOSE SHE WAS RESPONSIBLE TO. SHE RESPONDED, BUT DID NOT PROVIDE WHAT WAS BEING REQUESTED: CONTRACTS, DOCUMENTATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION. THOSE FUNDAMENTAL REQUIREMENTS WERE LEFT UNANSWERED. WHAT SHE DID UNDER THE EXCUSE OF USING MY MOM FOR CONVENIENCE. SHE HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS REALLY HAPPENING AROUND HER AND NEVER HAD ANY PARTICIPATION IN ANYTHING. THIS FRIDAY MY LAWYER WILL SPEAK OUT AND MANY THINGS WILL BE MADE CLEAR. SINCERELY, ABRAHAM QUINTANILLA III.”
According to TMZ, Suzette has not yet responded the lawsuit filing.
