Dolly Parton’s estate has requested access to the body-worn cameras that captured an alleged confrontation between her nephew Bryan Seaver and police at the hospital on the day the singer passed away.
Seaver, who previously served as Parton’s head of security, is presently contesting a lawsuit brought by the singer’s estate over claims that he attempted to extort money through text messages that threatened violence following Parton’s death in August.
The estate has now issued a subpoena demanding “all body-worn camera footage” from officers at Vanderbilt Medical Centre on the day Parton died. The court filing notes that the footage purportedly shows “Seaver’s altercation with police,” but provides no further details about the incident.
Last month, Parton’s estate—guided by her longtime manager Danny Nozell—filed suit against Seaver, accusing him of trying to extort funds by sending violent threats, including messages like “I’m a killer” and “all I do is warfare.”
Seaver has denied the charges, with his counsel contending that the estate has mischaracterized an “ultimately friendly exchange between two longtime friends” as a “terror” episode in order to pull him into a legal dispute over business matters.
In September, the estate terminated Seaver from his role as head of security. They also filed another lawsuit accusing him of intimidating and harassing staff at Parton’s Nashville hotel and museum. A judge granted a temporary restraining order against Seaver and his security company, directing them to stay away from Parton’s offices in Nashville and to refrain from interfering with her business.
