Dolly Parton Estate Dispute Escalates as Manager Seeks Restraining Order

Dolly Parton’s manager has gone to court seeking a temporary restraining order against her nephew and former longtime security chief, Bryan Seaver, alleging that Seaver made threatening remarks directed at him.

According to a case summary reviewed by The Daily Mail, manager Danny Nozell filed the request through Parton’s company, She’s Alive, LLC, asking the court to impose restrictions on Seaver.

In documents reviewed by TMZ, Nozell alleged that Seaver demanded money while referring to his claimed background as a military contractor, his access to weapons and what he described as his ability to use violence.

Nozell reportedly told the court that he dismissed Seaver from his role on September 15 following the alleged exchange.

The filing also claims Seaver’s conduct became increasingly concerning in the weeks before Parton’s death at age 80 on August 25, according to the outlet.

The Daily Mail has contacted Bryan Seaver, Danny Nozell and Nozell’s attorney, Timothy L. Warnock, for comment.

TMZ reported that court documents quote Seaver as telling Nozell, “Her money better be bigger than I can make elsewhere or I’m going to f*** everyone. I am about to become the hand of retribution for my entire family.”

A second message cited in the filing allegedly stated: “All I do is warfare … everyone needs to be worried about what I might do.”

The filing further alleges that Seaver planned to launch a podcast aimed at damaging Dolly Parton’s brand partnerships and detailing alleged wrongdoing by business associates, TMZ reported.

Nozell is asking the court to keep Seaver at least 1,000 feet away from Parton’s office and to bar him from contacting the singer’s companies and affiliated businesses.

Responding to the restraining-order request on Tuesday, Seaver told TMZ, “I am a career soldier and military contractor and do conduct arms deals for foreign governments. I am a security professional and I am a killer.

“However, nothing in this lawsuit were threats and most of the comments I stand by.”

Seaver maintained that the messages included in the court filing were taken out of context and presented in a way that falsely suggested he was attempting to intimidate Nozell.

“I was talking frankly in a private way with Danny who I thought was my friend and he fancies himself a gangster,” Bryan told the outlet. “A lot of these messages are two guys having rage talk and crying on the phone together while we were grieving.”

He also said a message in which he used the phrase “rat f***” referred to an organization whose name was redacted and was aimed at people he believed had harmed Parton professionally.

“Those comments were about specific, horrible business partners that have done wrong to her and I stand by that,” Seaver added.

Seaver reportedly received a notice last week informing him that he and his security companies would be replaced. Those organizations had provided protection at Parton’s Nashville residence, museum and warehouse, according to documents reviewed by TMZ.

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Insiders told the outlet that they believed Parton’s manager Nozell and Pinnacle Bank were responsible for the decision to terminate him and his employees.

A new security team was deployed to the locations previously overseen by Seaver’s companies on Wednesday after the termination notice was issued, according to the report.

Sources close to Seaver said he and his associates had been ‘dismayed by the unexpected and, so far, unexplained actions’ carried out in the wake of Parton’s passing.

‘We remain unshakably resolved to fulfill her final directive to protect her family, and we refuse to be intimidated by those whose actions we believe are being taken in bad faith,’ Seaver’s camp told TMZ.

His camp told the outlet they believed the actions had been taken ‘with the intent to profit from the life of someone who willingly gave so much.’

According to the outlet, the notice issued to Seaver indicated that the DP Dean Trust had been overseeing Parton’s business and properties in the wake of her passing.

Seaver retains a personal interest in her trust moving forward, according to the report.

Seaver, whose mother Cassie is Parton’s sister, had been appointed by the late Jolene singer to reveal her death in a public statement.

Following Dolly’s August 25 passing following a battle with cancer, Seaver had been seen in a clip in which he revealed the sad news.

‘Dolly has lived in the light, and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by [late husband] Carl, her parents, and countless others who have watched her and longed for her to meet them in the heavens,’ Seaver said in the emotional clip.

In the clip, Seaver noted that his father Larry had held the security position before him.

He said that he had been her security head for the past ‘two decades,’ and had been working for her over the past four decades. 

‘I first went on the road with Dolly as a kid, getting a taste of the road life in the early 1980s,’ Seaver said. ‘Dolly opened doors not just for me, but for her entire family to reach the potential we didn’t even know was possible.

‘Dolly also opened doors for generations of singers, songwriters, musicians and dreamers from every walk of life and across every continent. By her example, we believed that anything was possible.’

He added, ‘She never saw a door she couldn’t open, and the doors she opened made and changed history. My family and I have shared a lifetime of beautiful memories with Dolly, but so have you.’

Parton has been well-remembered in the near month since her passing, which included an expansive tribute at the Primetime Emmy Awards last week which featured Reba McEntire and Sally Field.

Nashville International Airport will be renamed in Parton’s memory following a vote from the Metro Nashville Airport Authority Board of Commissioners weeks back.