A Nashville judge has granted Dolly Parton's longtime manager a restraining order against the singer's nephew, Bryan Seaver, who is accused of threatening those managing her business assets for financial gain.
Davidson County Chancellor I'Ashea Myles on Sept. 23 granted She's Alive LLC's motion for a restraining order, ordering Seaver to stay 1,000 feet away from anyone working for She's Alive or those who may have a business relationship with the company, which was created by Parton to oversee her professional property trust and legacy.
Seaver also cannot communicate with people associated with She's Alive or interfere with its business relationships.
A hearing is set for Oct. 7.
Seaver, who had been entrusted with announcing his aunt's Aug. 25
death, and his security company were named in a Sept. 22 motion for a temporary restraining order. The filing alleged he threatened "to inflict reputational and economic harm on all of those around Ms. Parton who are now entrusted with protecting her brand."
USA TODAY reached out to Seaver through his security company for comment.
The allegations against Dolly Parton's nephew
Danny Nozell, Parton's former manager who was selected by Parton to run She's Alive, alleged Seaver had sent him numerous threatening messages in recent weeks making frequent reference to his purported collection of arms and military background.
Seaver, who had long provided security services for Parton and some of her businesses, also threatened to wreck Parton's brand relationships and businesses, according to the lawsuit.
The court filing stated that Seaver began making threats before Parton died on Aug. 25 and those threats progressed, with Seaver at one point saying, "I'm a killer," and "everyone needs to be worried about what I might do."
Seaver, according to the lawsuit, was motivated by a desire for money but also said he has "vengeance for my people."
At one point, he allegedly told Nozell, "I'm going to set up a podcast dedicated to ruining Dolly's brand partnerships and telling the violations these people have done on us. It's going to be great. Or ... pay me," the lawsuit stated.
On Sept. 15, Seaver was fired from his job of providing security for She's Alive. This did not solve the problem, however, and Chancellor Myles noted it might have exacerbated the situation. Some of She's Alive's employees resigned and others stopped going to the office in fear of retaliation from Seaver, the lawsuit alleged.
Myles said that Seaver's alleged messages, which were attached to the lawsuit as screenshots, "reflect more than isolated intemperate or offensive statements."
Rather, the filings "demonstrate a repeated course of conduct in which Mr. Seaver: (1) identified particular individuals, business relationships, and professional interests associated with Ms. Parton as targets; (2) threatened reputational and commercial harm to those interests; (3) coupled those threats with demands for payment or other action; and (4) repeatedly invoked his claimed access to weapons, experience with violence, and intention to retaliate," Myles wrote in her order.
Seaver had not yet filed a response by the afternoon of Sept. 23 and did not respond to requests for comment.
Bryan Seaver was 'talking frankly' in private texts included in lawsuit
Seaver told TMZon Sept. 22 that "nothing in this lawsuit were threats and most of the comments I stand by" and that the messages were taken out of context to make it look like he was threatening people.
He also told TMZ he was "talking frankly in a private way" with Nozell, "who I thought was my friend and he fancies himself a gangster."
He added, "A lot of these messages are two guys having rage talk and crying on the phone together while we were grieving."
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Restraining order against Dolly Parton's nephew granted after his firing
