The manager of the late country music star Dolly Parton has dropped a lawsuit against her nephew.
The civil case was filed by the company that manages Parton’s business interests less than a month after her death.
It included allegations of threats, intimidation and coercion against Bryan Seaver, the relative who publicly confirmed Parton had died in August. A temporary restraining order was also sought.
Seaver, who previously served as Parton’s head of security, denied the allegations.
In a statement to the BBC’s US partner, CBS News, Seaver’s attorneys said he was “grateful to put this misunderstanding behind him so that the family can grieve peacefully”.
Seaver, the son of Parton’s sister Cassie, owns the security firm Squadron Augmented Protection Services (SAPS).
It provided security to Parton, who died of cancer aged 80, for the final 20 years of her life.
Weeks after Seaver confirmed her death, both he and his company were dismissed by She’s Alive, which manages Parton’s estate.
Danny Nozell, Parton’s longtime manager and the head of She’s Alive, filed for a temporary restraining order against Seaver and his company, which was granted by a judge.
In court filings, he accused Seaver of “an obscene, deliberate and escalating campaign of threats”, after demanding payment from the estate.
The documents included messages in which he allegedly threatened to damage Parton’s brand and business interests if his demands were not met.
The filings also alleged that Seaver used his experience as a military contractor to intimidate employees.
Seaver denied threatening the estate and in a statement published by TMZ at the time, he said he was a “career soldier and military contractor” but insisted he had simply been “talking frankly in a private way with Danny who I thought was my friend”.
