The Estate of the Late Country Music Icon Dolly Parton filed a motion to dismiss his lawsuit against his nephew and former security chief Bryan Seaver following accusations that he threatened to commit violence and destroy the Parton brand.
Details of the resolution were not immediately known.
“Mr. Seaver is grateful to put this misunderstanding behind him so that the entire family can continue to mourn peacefully and ensure that the bright light of Dolly’s legacy remains completely intact,” Seaver’s attorneys told CBS News in a statement.
Attorneys for Parton’s estate did not respond to a request for comment.
Seaver, who runs private security firm Squadron Augmented Protection Services, was responsible for announcing Parton’s death in August. But in September, Seaver and SAPS were fired by She’s Alive, which manages Parton’s estate and business interests. Parton’s longtime manager Danny Nozell, who runs She’s Alive, later filed a request prohibition order against Seaver and SAPS.
Parton died of cancer at the age of 80. Seaver gained national prominence when he announced Parton’s death in a pre-recorded video, in which he said it was “something Dolly asked me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality.”
She’s Alive, or SAL, had alleged in its request for a restraining order that Seaver “made repeated written threats against Ms. Parton’s staff, associates, legal and business advisors, and others” and that he “sought to extract money from SAL and its trusts through a lewd, deliberate and escalating campaign of threats.”
In a case preceding Parton’s death, SAL alleged that Seaver threatened to “destroy the entire brand” over a disagreement involving Dollywood, the theme park and resort opened by Parton in 1986. The lawsuit also alleged that Seaver repeatedly referred to his security business, which he described as a “heavily armed paramilitary-like force capable of projecting threat and coercion against staff and business partners of SAL”.
Seaver made many of these alleged threats via text messages, according to the lawsuit.
Seaver, in response to SAL’s request to extend his restraining order last month, denied “each and every allegation.” He said he and Nozell had been close friends for many years and that, until his firing, the two had never had an argument “except for a minor disagreement years ago over the company logo.”
Although he admitted to using foul and direct language, he denied threatening anyone, including Parton or her estate’s business partners, saying the text messages were “private messages” between him and Nozell.
“They were sent during private conversations between two friends who were both frustrated, grieving and discussing strategy following Ms. Parton’s illness and death,” the court filing states.
He insisted that the messages about the Dollywood disagreement were not threats of violence but that he was “privately warning” Nozell that he believed some associates were “harming (Parton’s) brand and begging her to help.”
Seaver also said in his response that Nozell did not respond to the various texts cited in the lawsuit with any sort of denial or alarm. In fact, Seaver claimed that Nozell urged him to publicly highlight his military and security history before trying to use those connections as evidence that Seaver was dangerous and threatening.
“I have refused to speak to the media about this matter and have directed my attorneys to handle all communications with the media,” Seaver wrote at the end of his affidavit. “I care about Ms. Parton, her music, her legacy and her family. I don’t want this argument to damage her legacy.”
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