Parton manager drops lawsuit against late singer's nephew

Danny Nozell, the longtime manager of Dolly Parton, filed a motion in Tennessee court on Thursday to drop his complaint against the late country icon’s nephew. The action ends the immediate legal threat against Bryan Seaver, who served as Parton’s head of security.

Nozell, who operates through the entity She’s Alive, had pursued the case after securing a temporary restraining order against Seaver and his firm, Squadron Augmented Protection Services, in September. The original goal was to convert that temporary measure into a permanent injunction. A filing from Wednesday indicated that the two sides reached an agreement, though neither document provided specific terms of that deal.

The Thursday filing offers no explicit reason for the withdrawal. It states only that a proposed order is being drafted for the judge to approve the dismissal. The case is being dropped without prejudice, a legal designation that allows the plaintiff to refile the complaint in the future. The first public hearing on the matter had been scheduled for Tuesday after several delays throughout the previous month.

The lawsuit illuminated a fracture within Parton’s inner circle that became public shortly after her death on August 25. She’s Alive terminated Seaver and his company in early September. The following week, Nozell petitioned for the restraining order, claiming that Seaver’s conduct made keeping him on the estate untenable. The petition alleged that Seaver threatened the entity’s personnel, counsel, and business partners both before and after Parton’s passing.

Nozell’s petition quoted Seaver as vowing to “destroy the entire brand” in writing. It further claimed Seaver described himself as “literally an international arms dealer and mercenary” and warned that everyone “needs to be worried about what I might do.” Chancellor I’Ashea L. Myles granted the temporary order, citing Seaver’s claimed access to weapons, his experience with violence, and his stated intention to retaliate.

Seaver has contested the severity of the conflict in his own court filings. He described Nozell as a close friend and ally prior to the restraining order. In an affidavit, Seaver characterized the text messages Nozell cited as evidence as a private discussion between two friends who were frustrated and grieving. “I have never threatened physical harm to Mr. Nozell, to any SAL employee, contractor, attorney, advisor, or business partner, or to anyone else associated with SAL,” Seaver wrote. “I have no intention of doing so.”