Judge dismisses Dolly Parton estate lawsuit against her nephew
A Tennessee judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit and a temporary restraining order brought by Dolly Parton's estate against her nephew and former security guard, Bryan Seaver.
The judge dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice after Parton's estate, led by her longtime manager Danny Nozell, requested its voluntary dismissal last week, according to court records seen by ABC News.
The lawsuit was dismissed “without prejudice,” meaning the estate could potentially bring the claims again.
Parton died in August at age 80 after what her team described as a "brief battle with cancer."
Seaver, a son of one of Parton's 11 siblings, was the family member who publicly announced Parton's death in a video shared on her social media accounts. He was also head of security for Parton for nearly two decades through his company, Squadron Augmented Protection Services, LLC.
She's Alive LLC, the company overseeing the business empire left by Parton, sued Seaver and his company on Sept. 22, alleging he had made threats and was demanding money.
The lawsuit came shortly after Parton's estate was granted a temporary restraining order against Seaver and his company after a judge found a "present and continuing disruption and threat" to She's Alive LLC, which is led by Nozell.
The following month, the estate alleged in an Oct. 5 court filing that Seaver had attempted to evade being served with the lawsuit, claiming his residence had a "no-trespassing sign in the front yard and barbed wire draped across the handrails leading to the front door."
Seaver told ABC News at the time of the court filing that the restraining order prevented him from speaking publicly about the case.
He previously denied the allegations made against him in court documents, saying that his late aunt jokingly called him "her killer."
"Dolly called me her killer. It was a joke we used around her camp," Seaver said in a Sept. 23 statement to ABC News. "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."
He added, "I've never threatened anyone ... They are my friends and my brothers and colleagues."
ABC News has reached out to Seaver for comment on the lawsuit's dismissal.
A spokesperson for Parton's estate declined to comment Tuesday.
Parton amassed a multimillion-dollar estate during her lifetime, stemming from her entrepreneurial endeavors, which included her extensive music catalog and her Dollywood amusement park. She and her late husband, Carl Dean, who died last year, had no children.
