Dolly Parton estate embroiled in accusations of extortion and intimidation

Nashville: A feud over Dolly Parton’s sprawling estate spilled into the open on Tuesday (US time) when her long-time manager accused her nephew and former security detail of threats, extortion and intimidation.

The accusations against the nephew, Bryan Seaver, were made public in a request for a restraining order. It offers a glimpse into a fight over Parton’s entertainment enterprise, which includes the Dollywood amusement park, her SongTeller hotel and Life of Many Colors museum that is set to open this month.

Seaver, who delivered the news of Parton’s death from cancer in a filmed video last month, was fired as head of security for her properties last week. In the court papers, filed on Tuesday, he is accused of mounting “an obscene, deliberate and escalating campaign of threats” to obtain money from the Parton estate.

In text messages included in the court papers, someone identified as Seaver issued a profane threat against at least one Dollywood business partner. He wrote that he would become “the hand of retribution for my entire family”, according to the complaint.

In an exchange on September 3 with a long-time lawyer of Parton’s, Seaver described himself as a “killer” and said that on the day his aunt died, he had sold $US27 million ($38 million) in arms and ammunition to the Haitian police. “Let’s have dinner …” Seaver wrote, according to a copy of the email attached to the complaint.

Seaver did not immediately respond to requests for comment but defended his work to TMZ, which earlier reported the news.

“We remain unshakably resolved to fulfil her final directive to protect her family,” he told TMZ, “and we refuse to be intimidated by those whose actions we believe are being taken in bad faith and with the intent to profit from the life of someone who willingly gave so much.”

The request for a restraining order was filed in Davidson County Chancery Court in Nashville, Tennessee, by She’s Alive, a corporation responsible for overseeing Parton’s many business endeavours. It is run by Danny Nozell, her long-time manager.

A lawyer for She’s Alive declined to comment further.

The proposed order would keep Seaver from the company’s properties and staff, as well as block him from having any contact with individuals that do business with She’s Alive. The company also filed a lawsuit accusing Seaver of tortious interference and seeking an unidentified amount of damages.

Seaver and his outside security company had long overseen protection for Parton and her properties. According to the complaint, “it was important to her to employ her family members when they had skill sets compatible with her business needs”.

Parton successfully leveraged her musical prowess and stardom into a multipronged business, most notably with Dollywood, located near her hometown in east Tennessee. Even after her death, it has continued to barrel forward: in addition to the hotel and museum, a line of dolls and a coffee brand are also being introduced this month.

Seaver claimed an extensive amount of military experience and dealings abroad, according to the complaint. It said his operation “was not a conventional office-security operation; it was a heavily armed, paramilitary-style force” with dozens of employees and access to military-grade weaponry.

That was in part why Nozell and other business associates said they had grown unsettled as Seaver began making demands, starting just before Parton’s death. One lawyer representing the Parton estate and trust quit after receiving “harassing and ominous threats” from Seaver in a phone call, according to the filing. Some staff members have resigned, it said, while others have hired private security.

Seaver told Nozell, according to the text messages, that he would “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,” Seaver wrote.

“Or pay me,” he added, punctuating the demand with an expletive.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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