Dolly Parton’s family faced legal disputes involving her sister Freida, including a workers’ compensation case connected to Dollywood
Decisive Dolly Parton got all her ducks in a row before she died, reportedly fearing a war would break out among her mᴀssive family over her staggering $650 million fortune – and as it turns out, one family member isn’t above suing another, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
In 1989, Parton’s sister Freida [Parton], who was working as a performer at Dollywood, suffered a back injury that required surgery. The sidelined sis responded by filing a workers’ compensation lawsuit against Parton’s beloved theme park, claiming she hurt her back while closing a dressing-room door.
The case was eventually settled.
Dolly’s Bitter Family Battle Erupted
Freida was a thorn in Dolly’s side for years, sources said. In 2000, Dolly and nine of her siblings went to court in Sevier County, Tenn., seeking control of their parents Robert and Avie’s financial and personal affairs – but Freida sided against her superstar sister in the bitter family battle.
Dolly’s dad had just suffered a stroke and died only days after the lawsuit was filed, leaving the Parton kids battling over their mother.
While Dolly and eight of her siblings claimed Avie – who had amᴀssed a $1million fortune – had dementia and could no longer manage her financial and medical affairs, Freida and her twin, Floyd, hired a lawyer to fight the proposed conservatorship.
Legal War Tore Family Apart
“This is a woman who has been independent all of her life,” Freida and Floyd’s now-deceased attorney, Dennis Francis, told the Knoxville News Sentinel in 2001. “She has raised 12 children. She has buried a husband and a child. She has taken care of herself all these years.
“They want to take away every right this woman has. I think this is just ridiculous. This woman has a right to live her own life.”
The legal war seemed to drive a devastating wedge between Dolly and her mother. At one point, Avie even claimed she didn’t even have her superstar daughter’s phone number.
But by 2003, the legal nightmare appeared to have been resolved, and that December, Avie died.
