Parton’s estate company accuses her nephew and former head of security, Bryan Seaver, of threats and extortion attempts. He has not yet filed a response.
Dolly Parton, according to Billboard, planned her estate carefully so that her family would never end up in a legal fight. Less than two months after her death, one has started anyway.
A court hearing in the dispute between Parton’s estate and her nephew, Bryan Seaver, set for Friday, Oct. 9, has been pushed back by almost two weeks. The judge, Chancellor Myles, granted the delay so Seaver can hire a lawyer. The estate had asked the court not to postpone.
She’s Alive LLC, the company that manages Parton’s estate and is run by her longtime manager Danny Nozell, sued Seaver less than a month after Parton died on Aug. 25. Seaver served as Parton’s head of security and was the family member who announced her death in an Instagram video. The lawsuit alleges that since her death he has tried to extort money from the estate by sending violent threats that referred to his military background. It also claims he threatened to damage the estate’s business interests, including by launching a podcast attacking Parton’s brand partnerships. A temporary restraining order has been granted against him.
Seaver asked the court for about 10 more days to find a lawyer and said he would not oppose extending the restraining order until then. According to TMZ, he has struggled to find counsel in Tennessee because every attorney he approached has ties to Pinnacle Bank, which is involved with the trust at the center of the dispute. Once he has a lawyer, he is due to file a written response. Neither Seaver nor the estate responded to Billboard’s requests for comment.
None of the allegations have been tested in court yet.
Parton spent nearly six decades building one of the most valuable and best-loved brands in music, from her songs to Dollywood to her Imagination Library. How that legacy is protected now matters to the business behind it and to millions of fans. It also shows how quickly a personal family dispute can become a business one, even when the planning was done right.
Sources: Billboard · WSMV / AP · TMZ
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