Partons

Dolly Parton’s estate is alleging that Bryan Seaver, the country icon’s nephew and former head of security, used a “no trespassing” sign and barbed wire to avoid being served legal documents.

There is an active restraining order and lawsuit against Seaver by Parton’s company, She’s Alive LLC, which is run by Parton’s former manager, Danny Nozell, for allegedly threatening and extorting her estate.

Seaver served as Parton’s head of security for more than 20 years and, on Aug. 25, delivered the news of his aunt’s death via a video on her Instagram account.

Legal troubles for Seaver first came to light on Sept. 22 when a case was filed by She’s Alive in Davidson County Chancery Court in Nashville on the heels of Seaver’s termination as head of security. Both Seaver and his company, Squadron Augmented Protection Services LLC, are the defendants in the lawsuit.

In documents reviewed by the New York Times, Seaver is accused of mounting “an obscene, deliberate and escalating campaign of threats” to acquire money from the Parton estate, including a profane threat made toward at least one Dollywood business partner.

Seaver filed a motion last week to delay a hearing scheduled for Friday, saying he needed time to meet with his preferred legal counsel.

The following day, lawyers for She’s Alive asked the court to deny this motion, arguing that Seaver “attempted to evade service of process” and that the “court should not reward that behavior.”

According to court filings obtained by ABC News, a process server tried to issue court documents to Seaver for the third time but encountered a “no-trespassing sign in the front yard and barbed wire draped across the handrails leading to the front door.”

The new hearing date is set for Oct. 20.

The legal complaint includes text messages in which Seaver wrote that he would become “the hand of retribution for my entire family.” According to the complaint, in other text exchanges between him and a longtime lawyer of Parton, he described himself as a “killer,” a term he would later argue was taken out of context.

There are also claims that Seaver began making financial demands before Parton’s death, including in a text to Nozell where he said he would launch a podcast “dedicated to ruining Dolly’s brand partnerships and telling the violations these people have done on us” if demands were not met, the New York Times reported.

Nozell was Parton’s longtime manager and is credited with reviving the “I Will Always Love You” singer’s international touring career.

The Times reached out to Seaver, Nozelle and She’s Alive LLC but did not hear back.

DOLLY Parton’s nephew threatened to “destroy her entire brand” in shocking texts exposed by the late icon’s manager.

In a trove of messages and emails obtained by The U.S. Sun, Dolly’s nephew and longtime head of security, Bryan Seaver, sent a flurry of messages to her manager, Danny Nozell, before and after her death on August 25 after a brief battle with cancer.

The texts have been revealed as part of a lawsuit filed by Nozell against Seaver alleging that he threatened various Dolly business entities just before and after his iconic aunt died unless his demands were met.

Nozell claimed her nephew’s threats were aimed at causing “fear and chaos to extort money for his personal gain.”

He claimed that he has been tasked with running Dolly’s businesses through She’s Alive LLC, which was created “through her trust and estate plan,” to “protect her professional property and business interests.”

Seaver, whom Nozell fired from his security role this week, texted the manager that was ready to “destroy the entire brand if you don’t get these [REDACTED] out of our bit,” he wrote, adding, “I’ll earn you more money by virtue of their exit,” he wrote.

Seaver then said to Nozell, “I am your ally. This is a long game you need to start doing on them. The Dollywood brand is dying.”

Dolly’s Dollywood theme park is worth an astounding $300 million, of which she had a 50% stake in.

In another text to Nozell, Seaver threatened to “set up a podcast dedicated to ruining Dolly’s brand partnerships.”

Seaver bragged in another text that, as he was the one to announce Dolly’s passing on her social media, he was “the face of the biggest social media post in human history.”

Seaver also said he “just sold $29 million dollars worth of ammo to Haiti,” to which Nozell saw as a statement to “magnify fear and demonstrate that Mr. Seaver could combine public notoriety with his means and stated willingness to inflict serious commercial damage.”

According to the complaint filed on Tuesday, Dolly’s manager claimed Seaver “has individually, and through his associates, made repeated, written threats to Ms. Parton’s staff, partners, legal and business advisors, and others.”

“These were not ordinary workplace disputes or heated words; they were deliberate threats from a self-proclaimed heavily armed, former security operative with a military-contractor background,” Nozell claimed in the complaint.

“Many of these people are now afraid to come to work or have resigned entirely because they do not feel safe.”

Nozell has filed a restraining order against Seaver and his security company, Squadron Augmented Protection Services LLP.

He is asking the court to order Seaver to stay at least 1,000 feet away from any person or entity that may have a business relationship with She’s Alive LLC and to bar him and his company from making any statements that may interfere with the business.

Nozell is asking for damages as well, though the complaint alleges that Seaver’s conduct has caused irreparable harm.

“The loss of safety, goodwill, trusted personnel, counsel, and business relationships cannot be fully remedied by money damages, and [Seaver’s] continuing threats create an ongoing and escalating risk of further harm,” the suit claimed.

The U.S. Sun reached out to Seaver and Nozell for comment.

As The U.S. Sun exclusively reported, Dolly was quietly getting her affairs squared away during her final months.

Just four months before she died, she appeared to lay the ground work in an attempt for an estate fight to be avoided.

Public records show that her expansive Willow Lake Plantation property was transferred from the DP Spousal Trust, which Dolly managed as the trustee, to the DP Dean Trust on April 21 for $0.

Dolly Parton’s estate has reportedly accused the late singer’s nephew of extortion and threats against staff.

On Tuesday, Parton’s estate, She’s Alive, LLC, requested a restraining order against Parton’s nephew Bryan Seaver, court records show. The request came after he was fired from his job as head of security, as TMZ reported.

She’s Alive is run by Parton’s former manager Danny Nozell.

The New York Times reviewed court records containing allegations that Seaver began making demands shortly before Parton died. The demands grew into more serious threats, according to the records the news outlet cited, which the plaintiffs saw as an attempt to obtain money from the Parton estate.

Here’s what to know.

Who is Bryan Seaver?

Parton’s nephew, Bryan Seaver, shared the news of his aunt’s death in a video posted to her Instagram account on Aug. 25.

In the video, Seaver, standing in front of a black background, introduces himself as the the son of Dolly’s sister Cassie Parton and says he is representing the Parton and Owens family in announcing his aunt’s death. The Owens are the maternal side of the country star’s family.

“This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,” he says in the video.

Seaver adds that he followed in his father Larry’s footsteps in becoming Parton’s head of security, a post he held for more than 20 years.

Seaver and his company, Squadron Augmented Protection Services, LLC, are the defendants in the lawsuit. They were reportedly terminated about three weeks after the country icon’s death.

Seaver did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.

According to the New York Times’ reporting on the court records, the restraining order request, filed in Davidson County Chancery Court in Nashville, sought to keep Seaver away from Parton’s properties and staff.

Who is Danny Nozell?

Nozell was Parton’s longtime manager. He has claimed credit for helping revive Parton’s international touring career.

He told The Times last month that Parton “worked up until the day she died” on multiple projects.

“She loved seeing her dreams come to life, and loved knowing her work brought people joy,” Nozell said in the statement. “Ever the planner, Dolly worked with the team that she handpicked, for the past several years to build a project roadmap that will guide us for decades to come.”

Nozell’s website described his work with Parton as “arguably his most notable achievements.”

What are the allegations?

The court records, according to the New York Times, include allegations that Seaver sent a profane threat to a Dollywood business partner, and that, separately, he referred to himself as a “killer” and “not an entertainment person” while corresponding with one of Parton’s longtime lawyers.

According to TMZ, Seaver and his team said in a statement that they were “dismayed by the … unexplained actions” following Parton’s death and “[w]e remain unshakably resolved to fulfill her final directive to protect her family, 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.”

A GIANT glittery guitar hangs next to bright pink awnings and a huge sign that reads: “Dolly Parton’s SongTeller Hotel”.

The 12-storey building was one of the music icon’s final projects — and while she won’t get to see it open following her death at the age of 80 last month, it will ensure her legacy lives on in Nashville.

Parton was heavily involved in the creation of the 240-room hotel, which is a glittering addition to the Tennessee skyline and an absolute must-visit for fans.

It opens to the public on September 29, and I was one of the lucky few granted a first look.

A number of Parton’s costumes will be exhibited in the lobby in a nod to Dolly’s Life of Many Colors Museum on the third floor, where interconnected digital screens tell a 15-minute story of her life.

General manager Shannon Foster says: “We are expecting ­people to walk in even when they’re not staying here. We want everyone to feel welcome.”

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Hotel guests will encounter more moments of magical discovery as they move through the elegant building, where song lyrics are etched on to doorframes.

Guests can choose from four room categories — even the most basic of which has the wow factor. But those with cash to splash can spoil themselves with a night in the Acoustic Suite, which is completely geared up for songwriters.

Its living area comes with a keyboard, while drawer liners adorned with Parton’s famous quotes add a personal touch.

The most heartwarming element of the hotel, however, are the Six Sisters rooms on every floor.

“When the designers asked Dolly what she wanted most in the hotel, she replied that she’d always wanted to share a room with her five ­sisters,” Foster explained.

The result is a touching tribute to the Parton family bond — a suite with three double beds separated by candy-stripe curtains and a washroom with two showers and toilets.

The rooms are connected by a ­living area in the middle with a curved sofa, a side table painted with each sister’s favourite flower and a chandelier decorated with the siblings’ birthstones.

Foster considers the second floor to be the heart of the operation, though, with guests taking a lift up to a gold sparkling desk to check in.

Parton’s Live — cosy seating around a stage, and bar space ­created to showcase upcoming talent — sits opposite.

But the jewel in the hotel’s crown looks likely to be the late-night lounge Jolene’s, on the top floor.

It will open daily from 5pm and serve punchy cocktails, and a food menu to suit.

A spectacular view over Second Avenue and the Cumberland River — where the famous 4th of July fireworks take place — means Jolene’s will, arguably, have the best seat in the house for the celebration.

The hotel may be opening a month after the singer’s tragic death but her touch is everywhere.

It’s in the diamante trim on bottle-green barstools, in the corset lacing on the back of a pink ­velvet chair and in the words etched into the corner of a mirror.

“Dolly approved every single rendering that became a reality,” Foster said.

“The hotel is Dolly’s gift to Nashville.”

Parton’s influence on her spiritual home is undeniable and if you plan to visit, it’s well worth exploring beyond the hotel.

Her star in the Music City Walk of Fame Park, near the hotel, remains encircled with floral tributes.

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, opposite the park, has been running a special exhibition about the music legend for the past 17 months.

Dolly Parton — Journey of a Seeker is due to end in October but the singer is honoured throughout for her music and activism.

Parton, whose Imagination Library has gifted over three million books to children worldwide — unwittingly entwined her identity into Nashville when she debuted at the Ryman auditorium at the age of 13.

She would not have known she would return to that very stage bigger and brighter each time.

And she definitely would not have dreamed that some day, she would own a hotel just three minutes away from the auditorium.

This is Dolly’s parting gift to Nashville. And it’s worth working 9 to 5 to bag yourself a room.