Dolly Parton Estate Granted Temporary Restraining Order Against Nephew Bryan Seaver

A Nashville judge has granted Dolly Parton’s estate a temporary restraining order against her nephew, Bryan Seaver, after court filings accused him of interfering with the estate’s business relationships through “threats, intimidation and coercion.” Chancellor I’Ashea L. Myles directed Seaver to stay at least 1,000 feet from estate employees and business partners, remain off private property owned by the estate, and refrain from harassing conduct, according to court records.

The order cites several written communications filed with the estate’s complaint. In one text from August 19, about a week before Parton died at age 80, Seaver allegedly told Danny Nozell, sole manager of She’s Alive LLC — the company Parton designated to control her professional property and business interests after her death — “I’m going to destroy the entire brand if you don’t get these [Dollywood business partners] out of our bit.” Another message attributed to Seaver after Parton’s death read, “I just sold 29 million dollars worth of ammo to Haiti. I’m not exactly a media person, Danny. I’m literally an international arms dealer and mercenary.”

Seaver is the relative who announced Parton’s death in a prerecorded video posted to her Instagram account. He previously worked for private military contractors and later provided security for Parton and her properties through his company, Squadron Augmented Protection Services, which is also subject to the temporary restraining order. The judge wrote that the statements were significant because they were made in conjunction with threats against specific individuals and business interests, and that Seaver had “expressly connected threatened interference with Ms. Parton’s commercial interests to a demand for payment.” A follow-up hearing is set for October 7.