Latest / Best of: Features / Dolly Parton's Estate Claims Nephew Put Up Barbed Wire To Evade Summons as Bitter Legal Battle Continues
Transcript
- 0:05Dolly Parton's estate claimed nephew put up barbed wire to evade summons
- 0:09as bitter legal battle continues. This article
- 0:15is being read by an automated voice generated by Everlet. Dolly Parton's
- 0:21estate has claimed that the late Country Music Icon's nephew, Brian Seaver,
- 0:25went to extraordinary lengths to evade being served with a summons including
- 0:29allegedly draping barbed wire around the entrance to his property. Seaver, who
- 0:34announced the nine to five inches hitmaker's death on august twenty fifth,
- 0:38was fired from his longtime role as head of security at Parton's
- 0:42properties on september sixteenth. What followed was a bitter legal battle, with
- 0:47the entity tasked with protecting Parton's brand accusing Seaver of making threats
- 0:52of violence and vowing to destroy the singer's legacy. Seaver has fiercely
- 0:56denied the allegations against him. On october second, he filed a motion
- 1:01asking the court to postpone a hearing scheduled for october ninth, claiming
- 1:05he had been unable to secure an attorney to represent him. Seaver
- 1:10is facing legal action from She's Alive LLC, an entity Parton enlisted
- 1:14to protect and promote her brand following her death. A judge ultimately
- 1:19granted Seaver's request and pushed the hearing to october twenty, but not
- 1:23without opposition from Sall. In court documents, She's Alive argued against the
- 1:28delay and accused Seaver of having attempted to evade service of process,
- 1:32adding that the court should not reward that behavior. According to the
- 1:37filing, attempts were made to serve Seaver with a summons on three
- 1:41separate occasions. During the second attempt, the process server allegedly spotted four
- 1:46vehicles parked in the driveway, but no one answered the door. Eventually,
- 1:51mister Seaver's residence had a notress passing sign in the front yard,
- 1:55and barbed wire draped across the handrails leading to The front door,
- 1:59the filing alleged. Sall also urged the court to view Seaver assertion
- 2:04that he had been unable to find legal representation with considerable skepticism.
- 2:09He waited until the last moment to take any action, and the
- 2:12court should not reward that behavior, the filing, stated, adding that
- 2:16Seaver already has lawyers who appear to be anxious to represent him.
- 2:21The latest courtroom clash comes after a temporary restraining order was granted
- 2:25against Seaver on September twenty second. In one of its lawsuits, Sal
- 2:31alleged that Seaver began making threats in the weeks leading up to
- 2:34Parton's death. Mister Seaver
- 2:37began his campaign of threats intimidation, and coercion a few weeks prior
- 2:40to Miss Parton's passing, the filing obtained by people, alleged. The suit
- 2:45further claimed that Seaver vowed in writing to destroy the entire brand,
- 2:50and allegedly told Parton's entertainment attorney, I'm not an entertainment person, I'm
- 2:55a killer. The filing noted that Parton loved and cared for her
- 2:59family very deeply while accusing her nephew of threatening to damage her
- 3:03legacy and inflict reputational and economic harm. Seaver was also accused of
- 3:08making threats of real world violence against members of Parton's staff. Sell
- 3:13said it has a responsibility to safeguard both the singer's legacy and
- 3:17them people involved in maintaining it. As they entity entrusted by Miss
- 3:21Parton to protect and promote her life's work for future generations, Sal
- 3:25must cultivate a safe work environment for employees, advisors, and partners, free
- 3:30from intimidation or hostility particularly intimidation, by an armed former security contractor,
- 3:36one filing stated. Without relief, defendants calculated campaign will continue to inflict
- 3:41fear to destabilize Sall's operations and to cause further irreparable harm. Seaver
- 3:47and his security company were subsequently served with a termination notice, directing
- 3:52them to immediately vacate the Parton properties they had been tasked with
- 3:56protecting. Those properties reportedly include Parton's Nashville home, museum, warehouse, and
- 4:02a downtown residence. Replacement security personnel were reportedly dispatched to the locations.
- 4:09Seaver's and his team later spoke out about their termination, taking aim
- 4:12at Parton
- 4:13longtime manager, Danny Nozell, and saying they were dismayed by the unexpected
- 4:18and, so far, unexplained actions that followed the singer's death. We remain
- 4:23unshakably resolved to fulfil her final directive to protect her family, and
- 4:27we refuse to be intimidated by those whose actions we believe are
- 4:31being taken in bad faith, and with the intent to profit from
- 4:34the life of someone who willingly gave so much, they said. According
- 4:38to TMZ, Seaver's removal from his security role did not affect his
- 4:42personal interest in Parton's trust. Parton died peacefully on august twenty fifth,
- 4:48following a brief battle with cancer in her hometown of Nashville, Tennessee,
- 4:52where she and her late husband, Carl Dean, had lived for decades.
- 4:55Dean died in march twenty twenty five. News of Parton's death was
- 5:00announced on her Instagram account by Seaver, who identified himself as the
- 5:04son of Cassie Parton and said he was representing the Parton and
- 5:07Owens families. This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years
- 5:12ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality, he said.
- 5:16As her head of security for more than two decades a role
- 5:19my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of
- 5:23this moment, but haven't truly felt it till now. Seaver said his
- 5:27aunt had told him she wanted to rest in a beautiful bed
- 5:30of plush cotton after spending a lifetime wearing heavy rhinestones. He also
- 5:35paid tribute to Parton as someone who lived in the light and
- 5:38is in the arms of Jesus, saying she was surely reunited with
- 5:41Dean, her parents, and other loved ones. An obituary shared with Realtor.com
- 5:47remembered the music legend for far more than her decades of chart-topping
- 5:51success. A rhinestone life that shone bright enough for the world to
- 5:54see, Dolly will forever stand as an inspiration not only through her
- 5:58timeless music and prolific songwriting, but also her wit, warmth, and kindness
- 6:03that made us all feel like family, it read. Dolly Parton's legacy
- 6:08is one of love, compassion, and resilience. With a seven decade career,
- 6:12she's inspired multiple generations of artists and fans with her music and
- 6:15an unwavering commitment to making the world a better place. Parton's death
- 6:21came just days after she opened up about her health in an
- 6:24august twenty first interview with people, admitting that she had failed to
- 6:28pay attention to her own symptoms while caring for Dean during the
- 6:32final months of his life.