A federal judge dismissed Spencer Elden's second lawsuit against Nirvana on Tuesday after he claimed the band's 1991 Nevermind album cover featuring him as a naked infant constituted child pornography. U.S. District Judge Fernando Olguin ruled that no reasonable jury would consider the image sexually explicit, and he compared it to a family photograph of a child bathing. The 34-year-old plaintiff first sued in 2021, seeking at least $150,000 from surviving band members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, Kurt Cobain's widow Courtney Love, and photographer Kirk Weddle.
Olguin initially dismissed the case in 2022 because Elden filed after the 10-year statute of limitations expired, but an appeals court reversed that decision. The judge's latest ruling addressed the merits of the case, and he stated that the pose, setting, and context did not suggest sexually explicit conduct. Elden's attorneys told Rolling Stone on Wednesday that they plan to appeal the decision.
Olguin initially dismissed the case in 2022 because Elden filed after the 10-year statute of limitations expired, but an appeals court reversed that decision. The judge's latest ruling addressed the merits of the case, and he stated that the pose, setting, and context did not suggest sexually explicit conduct. Elden's attorneys told Rolling Stone on Wednesday that they plan to appeal the decision.
