NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Davidson County judge has granted a temporary restraining order against Bryan Seaver, Dolly Parton's nephew and former head of security, after the company responsible for managing Parton's business interests alleged he threatened employees, business partners and the country music icon's brand.
In an order filed Wednesday, Chancellor I'Ashea L. Myles found that She's Alive LLC had demonstrated that "immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage" could occur before Bryan Seaver and his company, Squadron Augmented Protection Services (SAPS), could respond in court. The court granted the temporary restraining order and scheduled a hearing on a possible temporary injunction for Oct. 7.
In granting the restraining order, the court wrote that the record reflected "an escalating and repeated course of conduct" and pointed to allegations involving threats directed at identifiable people and business interests, statements about access to weapons, alleged demands tied to threatened commercial harm, and evidence that company personnel had altered their conduct due to safety concerns. The order notes allegations that some personnel stopped reporting to work and that additional security measures had been implemented.
Under the judge's order, Seaver and SAPS are temporarily prohibited from, among other things, interfering with She's Alive LLC's business relationships, threatening or intimidating personnel connected to the organization, coming within 1,000 feet of people or entities with business relationships with the company, monitoring their locations and publishing statements intended to interfere with the company's business relationships.
The lawsuit
She's Alive LLC, a Tennessee entity that court filings say was established under Parton's estate plan to manage her professional property and business interests, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Davidson County Chancery Court against Seaver and SAPS.
According to the lawsuit, Seaver served as Parton's head of security for approximately two decades and continued providing security services through SAPS until the company terminated those services earlier this month.
Seaver is also Parton's nephew and was the family representative who appeared in a video posted to her social media accounts announcing her death.
The lawsuit alleges his conduct became "threatening, destabilizing, and incompatible with any safe working environment."
The lawsuit alleges Seaver threatened to damage business relationships connected to Parton's entertainment empire, including Dollywood and various brand partnerships. Among the exhibits attached to the lawsuit is a text message in which Seaver allegedly wrote: "I'm going to destroy the entire brand if you don't get these out of our bit."
The filing also alleges Seaver wrote: "I'm going to ****** every entity I can possibly conjure." The plaintiffs further allege Seaver attempted to pressure company leadership through threats against Parton's business relationships.
According to another text message included with the complaint, Seaver allegedly wrote: "I'm going to set up a podcast dedicated to ruining Dolly's brand partnerships and telling the violations these people have done on us. It's going to be great. Or ******* pay me."
The lawsuit claims Seaver also directed threatening communications toward attorneys and others connected to the organization managing Parton's legacy. The filing alleges some employees have resigned, others no longer report to the office because they fear retaliation, and the company has hired private security for personnel.
In another text message included in the court record, Seaver allegedly wrote: "I am vengeance for my people for the next 50 years." The lawsuit says the same message continued: "All I have is animosity and memory. But I'm going to spend the next times I have on earth ********** anyone that has ever betrayed my family."
Another exhibit contains messages in which Seaver allegedly referenced arms sales and military experience.
According to the filing, Seaver wrote: "I just sold 29 million dollars worth of ammo to Haiti."
The message continued: "I'm literally an international arms dealer and mercenary."
The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages. The court has already granted temporary restrictions on Seaver and SAPS while the case proceeds and is scheduled to consider a longer-term injunction on Oct. 7
NewsChannel 5 reached out to representatives for She's Alive LLC, as well as Seaver and SAPS, seeking comment.
As of publication, no response had been filed in court on behalf of Seaver or SAPS, and NewsChannel 5 had not received a response to requests for comment.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Chris.Davis@NewsChannel5.com.
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