⚖️ Danny Nozell drops suit vs Dolly Parton's nephew, can refile

Danny Nozell, Dolly Parton's longtime manager, has filed a voluntary dismissal of his lawsuit against her nephew, Bryan Seaver, Yahoo reports, citing Rolling Stone. The notice was filed Thursday. The reports read give the day but no time in ET.

Who says what

According to Yahoo's account, Nozell and his lawyers said in the notice that they were abandoning the claims without prejudice, which leaves them free to bring the claims again. The same report says the move came just days before what was expected to be a dramatic courtroom showdown.

The suit itself dates from September, when Nozell sued Seaver in Nashville Chancery Court, per Yahoo. It accused him of an "obscene, deliberate, and escalating campaign of threats" intended to create "fear and chaos to extort money for his personal gain." Yahoo adds that Nozell alleged Seaver posed a threat to Parton's business empire after her death. Those are Nozell's allegations. No ruling on them appears in the reports read.

The money sits in a company called She's Alive. Yahoo reports that Nozell, who worked with and managed Parton for about two decades, is its sole manager, and that it oversees the Dollywood theme park in Tennessee and the SongTeller hotel in Nashville, home to a museum dedicated to Parton. A suit about threats to extract money ended with the person holding the keys walking away from it, at least for now.

The response

Seaver, the son of Parton's sister Cassie, vehemently denied threatening anyone, Yahoo reports. He argued that Nozell took his comments, made after Parton's death, out of context to discredit him. The report carries no statement from Nozell on why he dropped the case. No public comment from either man on the dismissal itself was found in the reports read.

What happens next

No hearing date, deadline or next filing is stated in the report read. Because the dismissal is without prejudice, Nozell could refile. Nothing in the sources says he will. Yahoo says the details of the resolution between Parton's estate and Seaver were not immediately known.

Backstory

Parton died Aug. 25 at 80, NBC News reported. Seaver announced her death in an Instagram video, describing himself as her head of security for more than two decades, according to the USA Today transcript of his statement.

"As the leader of the team responsible for overseeing her legacy, we will ensure the many dreams she had yet to fulfill are brought to life."

Danny Nozell, in a statement on Aug. 26 reported by People

Days later, AP reported that the estate had announced Dollyfest, a two-day festival in Nashville and London in 2027, with Nozell named as its organizer.

As of Nov 5, 8:15 PM ET, the confirmed part is narrow: Yahoo, citing Rolling Stone, reports that Nozell filed a notice of voluntary dismissal, without prejudice, on Thursday. Still pending: why he dropped it, what if anything was agreed with Seaver, and whether the claims return. Seaver's denial is on the record, and no ruling on the threat claims appears in the reports read.