A Texas judge has ruled that a lawsuit, filed by Abraham Quintanilla, the father of the late singer Selena Quintanilla Perez, can move forward.
Why the lawsuit?
According to the Caller Times, Abraham Quintanilla filed the lawsuit against his former son-in-law Chris Perez and Blue Mariachi, the production company, in December 2016 in an effort to halt the television series To Selena With Love, which would be a television adaptation of Perez's memoir about his life with the Tejano Singer.
Quintanilla's lawsuit claims Perez's television series would violate the contract they agreed upon in May 1995, two months after Selena was fatally shot.
In the contract, Perez, who was married to Selena from 1992 until her death, reportedly signed away his rights to Selena's name, voice, signature, photograph and any likeness of Selena.
Texas judge allows lawsuit against Selena widower Chris Perez to proceed https://t.co/SB5AOSHfjW #KSATnews pic.twitter.com/B5NIQnlma5
— KSAT 12 (@ksatnews) February 18, 2017
Abraham's lawyer, Michael Trauben of Singh, Singh & Trauben, LLP, argued his case in court, suggesting Perez and his production company were just trying to exploit the "Dreaming of You" singer for monetary gain.
“They’re commercially exploiting her name, image and likeness to make money," Trauben said. "That’s what they’re doing and now they want to make a television series commercially exploiting her name, image and likeness."
Perez's lawyer, Eric Medina, of the Medina Law Firm LLC, explained that the 1995 agreement did not stifle his free speech, and the series would be based on his story, which would not equate a violation of the contract.
“They’re submitting to you that in the context of the settlement … that Mr. Perez gave up his right to write his story,” Medina said. “They’re arguing in a very blurry and cloudy way that he can’t do this.”
On Friday, February 17, State District Judge Guy Williams ruled in Abraham's favor, allowing his lawsuit to move forward.
Selena's Death
According to Biography.com, Selena, who was known as the "Queen of Tejano Music," was shot on March 31, 1995, in Corpus Christi, Texas, by the president, and founder, of her fan club, Yolanda Saldivar, who is currently serving a life sentence in prison for her murder. Selena was only 23 years old when she died, but in her short life she became a beloved Latin singer, who drew more than 60,000 mourners to her funeral.
Walk of Fame Star
Selena will soon have her very own Hollywood Walk of Fame Star. In June 2016, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced that the late singer would be honored with the star in 2017. Selena is one of 33 entertainers that will be receiving their stars this year. Among those are: Tyra Banks, Christ Pratt, Eva Longoria, Ryan Reynolds, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Jeffrey Tambor, Rita Wilson, Amy Adams, Sarah Silverman, Mark Ruffalo, Goldie Hawn, Jason Bateman, Brett Ratner , Wolfgang Puck, Lee Daniels, and Hugh Laurie.
Late Singer Selena Among Latinos to Get Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame https://t.co/toK1NMU0VY
— LATINOS IN LONDON (@LatinosInLondon) September 23, 2016
"The Walk of Fame Selection Committee is thrilled to announce our newest honorees to the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The Committee looked carefully at each nominee and we feel that we have selected a great group of talent that will appeal to the tastes of many fans around the world,” Vin Di Bona said during the announcement, according to the Latin Times.
Do you think Chris Perez should be allowed to move forward with his television series? Do you agree with Abraham's lawsuit? Leave your comments below.
