Dolly Parton’s Nephew Fights Restraining Order, Says Estate Is Twisting ‘Friendly Exchange’

Dolly Parton’s nephew is urging a judge to dissolve the restraining order against him, arguing he never made serious threats of violence against anyone connected to the late star’s estate.   

Bryan Seaver, the son of Parton’s sister and former head of security for the singer, was hit with a temporary restraining order last month after the estate flagged a slew of allegedly violent messages sent after her August death at age 80. A Nashville court hearing is scheduled for next week to determine whether that restraint should be extended into a longer-term injunction.

Seaver submitted his first written response to the estate’s version of events in a Tuesday (Oct. 13) court filing, obtained and reported by Billboard. His lawyers argue that She’s Alive LLC (SAL), the entity managing Parton’s posthumous affairs, has “turned a private, profane and ultimately friendly exchange between two longtime friends into a claim of terror that the exchanges themselves refute.”

Many of the messages in question are between Seaver and Danny Nozell, Parton’s longtime manager who now is running SAL. Seaver says the unedited text thread shows that Nozell, who was his “close friend,” reacted with a “heart” and “haha” to his messages calling himself an “international arms dealer and mercenary” and writing “all I do is warfare.”

Seaver says his use of the term “ratf—k,” while “vulgar,” was slang referencing plans to “undercut or outmaneuver someone in business or politics, not to cause physical harm.” And Seaver argues that when he used the phrase “I’m a killer” in an email to a lawyer, he was merely contrasting his military background with the rest of the entertainment industry.

According to Seaver, he’s been nothing but “peaceful” since his security company was terminated by the estate last month. He says their only real dispute was about a $250,000 debt he was owed for previous security services, which has now been paid.

“What SAL actually fears is speech: Mr. Seaver’s stated wish to tell his family’s story on a podcast, to go to Billboard Magazine, and to ‘embarrass’ a business partner he believed was mistreating his family,” write Seaver’s lawyers, Dominic Leonardo and James Collier. “Those are not threats of violence. They are expressions protected by the First Amendment.”

Seaver’s lawyers say that in addition to trampling his free speech rights, the restraining order that’s currently in place unfairly bars him from communicating with his own mother or the trust attorneys who are distributing his inheritance from Parton. They argue that rather than extending that order, the judge should end it entirely.  

Reps for Parton’s estate did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday. They are due to file a written reply to Seaver by Friday (Oct. 16) before meeting him in court for the hearing next Tuesday (Oct. 20).

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