Judge grants restraining order against Dolly Parton's nephew

She's Alive LLC, a company created to assist in overseeing Parton's professional property trust, sued Seaver and his security company Tuesday.

Parton selected her former manager, Danny Nozell, to run She's Alive, and Nozell said Seaver sent him numerous threatening messages in recent weeks making frequent reference to his purported collection of arms and military background. Seaver, who long provided security services for Parton and some of her businesses, also threatened to wreck Parton's brand relationships and businesses, according to the lawsuit.

Davidson County Chancellor I'Ashea Myles granted She's Alive a restraining order Wednesday, ordering Seaver to stay 1,000 feet away from anyone working for She's Alive or anyone who may have a business relationship with She's Alive. Seaver also cannot communicate with people associated with She's Alive and cannot interfere with its business relationships.

A hearing is set for Oct. 7.

According to a court filing, Seaver began making threats before Parton’s Aug. 25 death and those threats progressed, with Seaver at one point saying, "I'm a killer," and "everyone needs to be worried about what I might do."

Seaver, according to the lawsuit, was motivated by a desire for money but also said he has "vengeance for my people."

At one point, he told Nozell, "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 (expletive) pay me," the lawsuit states.

On Sept. 15, Seaver was fired from his job providing security for She's Alive. This did not solve the problem, however, and Myles noted it might have exacerbated the situation. Some of She's Alive's employees resigned and others stopped going to the office in fear of retaliation from Seaver, the lawsuit says.

Myles said that Seaver's messages, which were attached to the lawsuit as screenshots, "reflect more than isolated intemperate or offensive statements."

Rather, the filings "demonstrate a repeated course of conduct in which Mr. Seaver: (1) identified particular individuals, business relationships, and professional interests associated with Ms. Parton as targets; (2) threatened reputational and commercial harm to those interests; (3) coupled those threats with demands for payment or other action; and (4) repeatedly invoked his claimed access to weapons, experience with violence, and intention to retaliate," Myles wrote.

Myles found that "immediate and irreparable injury may occur before Defendants can be served with notice and a hearing conducted."

Seaver had not yet filed a response by Wednesday afternoon. No one answered the door that morning at Seaver’s home. The Tennessean was also unable to reach Seaver after leaving him a voicemail and sending him texts or emails.

Seaver told TMZ "nothing in this lawsuit were threats and most of the comments I stand by" and the messages were taken out of context to make it look like he was threatening people, the outlet reported. He also told TMZ he was "talking frankly in a private way" with Nozell, "who I thought was my friend and he fancies himself a gangster." Seaver said to TMZ, "A lot of these messages are two guys having rage talk and crying on the phone together while we were grieving."

USA Today reached out to Bryan Seaver through his security company and Nozell for comment.

"Mr. Seaver began his campaign of threats, intimidation, and coercion a few weeks prior to Ms. Parton’s passing," one filing states, People reported. "In writing, he vowed to 'destroy the entire brand' and also told her entertainment attorney: 'I’m not an entertainment person. I’m a killer.'"

Seaver received a termination notice on Sept. 16 after more than 20 years serving as his aunt's head of security, a role he assumed from his late father, Larry Seaver, according to TMZ. The outlet published the termination letter, which notified him that all of Bryan Seaver's services "are formally dismissed and terminated" and stated that cotrustees will contact him regarding his interest as a trust beneficiary.

What has Bryan Seaver said?

In a statement to TMZ shared on Sept. 21, Bryan Seaver said he and his teams were "dismayed by the unexpected and, so far, unexplained actions" taken by Nozell and Pinnacle Bank.

"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 and with the intent to profit from the life of someone who willingly gave so much," the statement reads.

Bryan Seaver announced his aunt's death in an Aug. 25 video shared on social media where he said he first followed Dolly Parton on the road when he was a kid in the early 1980s and got a taste of the doors she opened for her family "to reach the potential we didn't even know was possible." In the video, he said that Dolly Parton personally asked him to reveal her death.

"My family and I have shared a lifetime of beautiful memories with Dolly, but so have you," Bryan Seaver said in the video. "She has always been on your television, your record player, your CD, and on your phone playlist, becoming an extended part of your family, whether you liked it or not."

Who is Bryan Seaver?

Bryan Seaver is the son of Dolly's younger sister Cassie Parton and Larry Seaver.

In addition to overseeing the "9 to 5" singer's security operations, Bryan Seaver is the CEO of Squadron Augmented Protection Services⁠, a Nashville-based company offering executive protection, estate security, business intelligence, K-9 services and event security, according to his LinkedIn page.

As Dolly Parton's head of security, Bryan Seaver worked to protect his aunt, her residences and her professional properties.

His sister Rebecca Seaver serves as executive director of Dolly Parton's Nashville museum.