Music legend Little Joe and his company, La Familia Enterprises Inc., have filed a civil lawsuit in Hidalgo County against Edinburg author Emma González and her publishing company, County Rd.34 Publishings, alleging the co-author and publisher improperly took control of Little Joe’s 2020 biography and the profits it generated.

MySA.com reports according to court filings, the complaint — filed September 5 in Hidalgo County — accuses González and her company of breach of contract, fraud and unjust enrichment, and seeks more than $1 million in damages as well as a court declaration voiding a second agreement that Hernández says transferred his rights in the book.

The dispute centers on the biography Little Joe ¡No Llore, Chingón! An American Story — The Life of Little Joe, which was published in May 2020 and has been the subject of regional coverage and award recognition. The complaint says Little Joe and González initially agreed that he would retain control of the work and receive royalties, but that he was later induced to sign a second contract that purported to transfer 100% of the book’s rights to County Rd.34 Publishings — an agreement the “King of the Brown Sound” now argues he signed without understanding its consequences. The biography is promoted on County Rd.34’s website and is listed on booksellers’ pages.

The suit asks the court to void that second agreement, award Little Joe control of his intellectual property and accounting for profits from the book, and award compensatory damages in excess of $1 million. According to the report, Emma González featured the book among her titles on her publishing site and had not yet been formally served when the news was published.

This legal fight comes as Little Joe — a five-time Grammy winner and a 2023 National Heritage Fellowship recipient — has seen his life and career celebrated in print and onstage for decades. The biography received attention and awards after its release, and Little Joe worked with González because of shared experiences growing up as migrant farmworkers, according to interviews and coverage about the book.

“Her life story is so similar to mine, grew up as migrant kids pickin’ and workin’ in the fields,” Little Joe said in an interview with Tejano Nation radio affiliate La Voz 93.3 FM in Abilene, Texas, in 2019. “I figured that she would be able to really deliver my message.”

What’s next: the Hidalgo County complaint sets the stage for discovery and, if the parties do not reach a settlement, a possible trial to resolve who owns the rights and profits tied to Little Joe’s life story.

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Luis Treviño