Dolly Parton’s Nephew Is ‘Making Things Worse’ for Himself Amid Lawsuit, Says Lawyer
Not long after Dolly Parton’s nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced her death in a video, he became locked in a legal battle with his late aunt’s estate. New reporting says he has used barbed wire and no-trespassing signs to avoid the lawsuit. A legal expert said that Seaver is only making things worse for himself with this behavior.
Dolly Parton’s estate and her nephew are feuding
She’s Alive LLC, the company that manages Parton’s business dealings, is suing Seaver for allegedly threatening and extorting her estate.
“Mr. Seaver began his campaign of threats, intimidation, and coercion a few weeks prior to Ms. Parton’s passing,” the filing reads, per Variety. “Those threats continued after her passing, and he aimed them directly at SAL’s personnel, counsel, and business partners. In writing, he vowed to ‘destroy the entire brand,’ threatened to ‘ratf*** every [business party] entity’ that helps operate Dollywood and called himself ‘literally an international arms dealer and mercenary.’”
Per ABC News, a new filing claims that a process server who tried to give Seaver court documents found a “no-trespassing sign in the front yard and barbed wire draped across the handrails leading to the front door.”
“Mr. Seaver attempted to evade service of process, and this Court should not reward that behavior,” the filing states. It also claimed that the server attempted to serve him three times.
A lawyer said Dolly Parton’s nephew is making things worse for himself
While Seaver is attempting to avoid the lawsuit, a legal expert noted that this will not work.
“Seaver simply can’t make a lawsuit disappear by using barbed wire and signs,” said lawyer Miguel Custodio. “If he is deliberately going out of his way to avoid being reached by the law, courts can still allow the case to proceed without cooperation from the defendant.”
If anything, this could only make the situation worse for him. He will not be able to avoid the lawsuit, and this could negatively affect him.
“An individual attempting to avoid service can actually worsen problems for them; their conduct can become part of the procedural record and negatively affect their case going forward,” he explained.
Custodio noted that Seaver has to deal with the situation, even if he doesn’t want to. There is nothing he can do to make the situation go away.
“Once a dispute reaches the courthouse, parties have to engage with the legal process whether they want to or not,” Custodio said. “If defendants could simply refuse to appear because they believe the allegations against them are fabricated, the court system would have no way to move cases forward.”
