Dolly Parton: feud over estate spills into the open

A feud over Dolly Parton’s sprawling estate spilled into the open Tuesday when her long-time manager accused her nephew and former security detail of threats, extortion and intimidation.The accusations against the nephew, Bryan Seaver, were made public in a request for a restraining order. It offers a glimpse into a fight over Parton’s entertainment enterprise, including the Dollywood amusement park and her Songteller hotel and Life of Many Colors museum that is set to open this month.Seaver, who delivered the news of Parton’s death from cancer in a filmed video last month, is accused of mounting “an obscene, deliberate and escalating campaign of threats” to obtain money from the Parton estate, according to the court papers.In text messages included in the court papers, someone identified as Seaver issued a profane threat against at least one Dollywood business partner. He wrote that he would become “the hand of retribution for my entire family,” according to the complaint.READ MORE“I’m not an entertainment person. I’m a killer,” Seaver is said to have written in a separate email in which he is said to have requested to get dinner with a long-time lawyer of Parton’s, according to the complaint.The request for a restraining order was filed in Davidson County Chancery Court in Nashville, Tennessee, by She’s Alive, a corporation responsible for overseeing Parton’s many business endeavours. It is run by Danny Nozell, her long-time manager.Seaver and his outside security company had long overseen protection for Parton and her properties. According to the complaint, “it was important to her to employ her family members when they had skill sets compatible with her business needs.”The court papers say he was fired last week and ask for a restraining order that would keep him away from the properties and staff. Parton’s company also filed a lawsuit accusing Seaver of tortious interference.Seaver did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A lawyer for the company overseeing Parton’s businesses declined to comment further.The court filing was earlier reported by TMZ.Parton successfully leveraged her musical prowess and stardom into a multipronged business, most notably with Dollywood, located near her hometown in east Tennessee. Even after her death, it has continued to expand: In addition to the hotel and museum, a line of dolls and a coffee brand are also being introduced this month.Dolly Parton performs at the Glastonbury Festival on June 29, 2014 in England. Photograph: Jim Dyson/Getty Images [ Dolly Parton was a rare example of a celebrity who used their fame to lift others upOpens in new window ]Seaver claimed an extensive amount of military experience and dealings abroad, according to the complaint. It said his operation “was not a conventional office-security operation; it was a heavily armed, paramilitary-style force.”That was in part why Nozell and other business associates said they had grown unsettled as Seaver began making demands, starting just before Parton’s death. One lawyer representing the Parton estate and trust quit after receiving “harassing and ominous threats” from Seaver in a phone call, according to the filing. Some staff members have resigned, it said, while others have hired private security.Seaver told Nozell, according to the text messages, that he would “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,” Seaver wrote.“Or pay me,” he added, punctuating the demand with an expletive. – This article originally appeared in The New York Times.[ Dolly Parton: country star, actor and philanthropist, dies aged 80Opens in new window ]