Dolly Parton’s Fired Nephew Struggles to Find Legal Counsel

Bryan Seaver, Dolly Parton’s nephew, is seeking more time in the legal case surrounding a temporary restraining order obtained against him by the late singer’s estate.

In a motion filed Friday, Seaver asked for a 10-day postponement of the hearing scheduled for October 9, according to the AP.

Sources told TMZ Tuesday that Seaver has struggled to find a lawyer in Tennessee. According to the sources, every attorney he has consulted has existing ties to Pinnacle Bank, a financial institution involved in the dispute.

Those connections have created a potential conflict of interest and left Seaver unable to retain counsel for the case, insiders told TMZ.

Representatives of the estate—She’s Alive, which is managed by Parton’s longtime manager Danny Nozell—have accused Seaver of making threats involving violence and attempts to damage the company’s business.

Our News Outlet has contacted Bryan Seaver, Danny Nozell and representatives of Pinnacle Bank for comment.

Seaver’s company, Squadron Augmented Protection Services, is also listed as a defendant in the lawsuit.

In a court filing obtained by the AP, Seaver argued that the defendants “lack any legal knowledge or skills to proceed in this matter without retained counsel or what, if any, challenges can or should be raised.”

The filing follows an earlier response from Seaver to Nozell as their increasingly contentious legal dispute over Parton’s estate continues.

Nozell, who managed Parton for more than two decades, secured the temporary restraining order against Seaver last month. Seaver had worked as the singer’s security chief and was trusted to announce news of her death in August.

In legal documents reviewed by TMZ, Nozell alleged that Seaver demanded money while referring to his claimed experience as a military contractor, his access to weapons and his “capacity for violence.”

The filing also alleged that Seaver described himself as a “killer” and told Nozell: “All I do is warfare…everyone needs to be worried about what I might do.”

Seaver later rejected the “spurious” restraining order, calling it “simply a publicity stunt” in a statement to People last month.

“Dolly called me her killer,” Seaver said. “It was a joke we used around her camp. I was her ‘baby boy ninja’ and Danny Nozell took that text out of context to somehow imagine that I was threatening him. He’s always called me The Killer.”

Nozell sought the restraining order through Parton’s company, She’s Alive, LLC. His court filings also stated that Seaver had been dismissed from his position as the singer’s security chief.

According to legal documents reviewed by TMZ, Seaver allegedly told Nozell: “Her money better be bigger than I can make elsewhere or I’m going to f*** everyone. I am about to become the hand of retribution for my entire family.”

A separate message attributed to Seaver in the filing stated: “All I do is warfare … everyone needs to be worried about what I might do.”

The court filing further alleged that Seaver planned to launch a podcast aimed at damaging Dolly Parton’s brand partnerships and exposing what he described as violations against his family, TMZ reported.

Nozell requested that the court order Seaver to remain a minimum of 1,000 feet from Parton’s office and to refrain from contacting Parton’s businesses or affiliates, according to the report.

In response to the restraining order request, Seaver told TMZ on Tuesday: ‘I am a career soldier and military contractor and do conduct arms deals for foreign governments. I am a security professional and I am a killer.

‘However, nothing in this lawsuit were threats and most of the comments I stand by.’

Bryan said that the texts included in the filing had been published out of context to make it look like he was trying to be intimidating, which wasn’t the case.

‘I was talking frankly in a private way with Danny who I thought was my friend and he fancies himself a gangster,’ Bryan told the outlet. ‘A lot of these messages are two guys having rage talk and crying on the phone together while we were grieving.’ 

Seaver said that one remark – in which he said he was going to ‘rat f***’ an organization whose name was redacted from the report – was ‘about people that have done bad to Dolly in business.’ 

He added: ‘Those comments were about specific, horrible business partners that have done wrong to her and I stand by that.’

Seaver last week received a notice reviewed by TMZ that he and his security organizations, which provided protection for Parton’s Nashville home, museum and a warehouse, were being replaced by another company.

Insiders told the outlet that they believed Parton’s manager Nozell and Pinnacle Bank were responsible for the decision to terminate him and his employees.

A new security team was deployed to the locations previously overseen by Seaver’s companies on Wednesday after the termination notice was issued, according to the report.

Sources close to Seaver said that he and his associates had been ‘dismayed by the unexpected and, so far, unexplained actions’ carried out in the wake of Parton’s passing.

‘We 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,’ Seaver’s camp told TMZ.

They told the outlet that they believed the actions had been taken ‘with the intent to profit from the life of someone who willingly gave so much.’ 

According to TMZ, the notice issued to Seaver indicated that the DP Dean Trust had been overseeing Parton’s business and properties in the wake of her passing.

Seaver retains a personal interest in her trust moving forward, according to the report.

Seaver, whose mother Cassie is Parton’s sister, had been appointed by the late Jolene singer to reveal her death in a public statement.

Following Parton’s August 25 passing following a battle with cancer, Seaver had been seen in a clip in which he revealed the sad news.

‘Dolly has lived in the light, and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by [late husband] Carl, her parents, and countless others who have watched her and longed for her to meet them in the heavens,’ Seaver said in the emotional clip.

In the clip, Seaver noted that his father Larry had held the security position before him.

He said that he had been her security head for the past ‘two decades,’ and had been working for her over the past four decades. 

‘I first went on the road with Dolly as a kid, getting a taste of the road life in the early 1980s,’ Seaver said. ‘Dolly opened doors not just for me, but for her entire family to reach the potential we didn’t even know was possible. 

‘Dolly also opened doors for generations of singers, songwriters, musicians and dreamers from every walk of life and across every continent. By her example, we believed that anything was possible.’

He added: ‘She never saw a door she couldn’t open, and the doors she opened made and changed history. My family and I have shared a lifetime of beautiful memories with Dolly, but so have you.’

Parton has been well-remembered in the weeks since her passing, during which she received an expansive tribute at the Primetime Emmy Awards last month, which featured Reba McEntire and Sally Field.

Nashville International Airport is set to be renamed in Parton’s memory following a vote from the Metro Nashville Airport Authority Board of Commissioners weeks back.