DECEMBER 22, 2023:
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal appeals court on Thursday (Dec. 21, 2023) revived a child sexual exploitation lawsuit filed by the man who appeared naked as a 4-month-old on the cover of Nirvana’s 1991 album “Nevermind.”
Spencer Elden’s lawsuit against the grunge rock group alleges that he has suffered “permanent harm” as the band and others profited from the image of him underwater in a swimming pool, appearing to grab for a dollar bill on a fish hook.
The suit says the image violated federal laws on child sexual abuse material, although no criminal charges were ever sought.
A federal judge in California threw out the lawsuit last year but allowed Elden to file a revised version, which the judge later dismissed on grounds that it was outside the 10-year statute of limitations of one of the laws used as a cause of action.
Thursday’s decision by a three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in California reversed that ruling and sent the case back to the lower court.
The appellate panel found that each republication of an image “may constitute a new personal injury” with a new deadline and cited the image’s appearance on a 30th anniversary reissue of “Nevermind” in 2021.
“The question whether the ‘Nevermind’ album cover meets the definition of child pornography is not at issue in this appeal,” the court wrote, according to the New York Times.
In an email to The Associated Press, Nirvana attorney Bert Deixler called the ruling a “procedural setback.”
“We will defend this meritless case with vigor and expect to prevail,” he wrote.
The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been victims of sexual abuse unless they come forward publicly, as Elden has.
JANUARY 14, 2022:
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The man who as a 4-month-old appeared nude on the 1991 cover of Nirvana’s album “Nevermind” has filed a new version of his lawsuit alleging the image is child pornography. A federal judge had dismissed Spencer Elden’s lawsuit after a missed deadline, but gave him permission to file an amended version. The new complaint includes a declaration from the album’s graphic designer that Elden’s lawyers argue demonstrates that the band and Geffen Records deliberately sought to display Elden’s penis and exploit the image for commercial gain. Nirvana’s lawyers say the lawsuit is not serious on its face.
JANUARY 4, 2022:
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed the lawsuit of a 30-year-old man who alleged that the image of him nude as a baby on the 1991 cover of Nirvana’s “Nevermind” is child pornography. Judge Fernando Olguin granted the motion by Nirvana’s attorneys to dismiss the case Monday (Jan. 3, 2022), but said plaintiff Spencer Elden can refile an amended version of the suit. Elden’s lawsuits said Nirvana and others connected with “Nevermind” had caused him lifelong damages as they profited off the image. Nirvana’s attorneys replied that the lawsuit was not serious and was outside the statute of limitations for the laws it used.
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