Dolly Parton Estate Says Bryan Seaver Dodged Lawsuit
Dolly Parton’s estate says her nephew Bryan Seaver was repeatedly unavailable for service of a lawsuit, and court papers allege his home had a no-trespassing…
The dispute over Dolly Parton’s business interests has reached the front porch of her nephew’s home. In the dolly parton estate bryan seaver lawsuit, the estate alleges Bryan Seaver used a no-trespassing sign and barbed wire as a process server tried to deliver court papers.
The estate’s lawyers are asking a judge to reject Seaver’s request for more time to hire an attorney and to make a temporary restraining order permanent. A hearing is scheduled for October 20, according to Billboard, which reported that a judge granted Seaver’s request to delay the proceeding.
Three attempts, the estate says.
In a court filing reported by Rolling Stone, lawyers for She’s Alive LLC said a process server tried to serve Seaver three times without success. During one attempt, the server saw four cars in the driveway, but no one answered the door, the filing said. The estate alleged that a no-trespassing sign later appeared in the front yard, with barbed wire across the handrails leading to the front door.
The filing included a photograph that appeared to show barbed wire across the railings of Seaver’s porch, marked with yellow caution tape. Seaver did not respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment about the display.
“Mr. Seaver attempted to evade service of process, and this court should not reward that behavior,” the estate’s lawyers wrote in their response, according to Rolling Stone.
Restrictions remain in place during the dispute
The lawsuit was brought by Danny Nozell, Parton’s longtime manager and the sole manager of She’s Alive, the company established to handle her estate. Nozell accused Seaver of using threats, intimidation and coercion to interfere with business relationships and seek money from the estate’s interests.
Seaver denies making threats. In comments to the BBC, he said messages cited in the court application had been taken out of context and described them as private exchanges between two people who were grieving. “Nothing in this lawsuit were threats and most of the comments I stand by,” he said.
A judge previously issued a temporary restraining order requiring Seaver to stay 1,000 feet from estate employees and business partners, avoid private property controlled by the estate, and refrain from disruptive or harassing conduct. The order also applies to his security company, Squadron Augmented Protection Services, according to the Guardian.
The judge’s next decision will determine whether those restrictions become a permanent injunction covering Seaver and the company while the lawsuit proceeds. Billboard reported that the temporary order remains in force until the rescheduled hearing.
Seaver previously provided security for Parton and her properties through his company. He also announced the singer’s death in a video posted to her Instagram account, the Guardian reported.
The dispute became public after Nozell sought court protection, citing messages that the estate says contained threats against its business operations and personnel. The judge who granted the temporary order cited communications that appeared to pair threats with demands for payment, according to Rolling Stone’s account of the filing.
The estate’s request for a permanent injunction is now set for a hearing on October 20.
Source: rollingstone.com
