Appeals Court reinstates Spencer Elden’s ‘Nevermind’ child pornography lawsuit

nme.com:

Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ album, has had his child pornography lawsuit against the band reinstated by a US Court of Appeals.In September 2022, a US District judge in Los Angeles ruled that the ‘Nevermind’ cover image, which features a naked photograph of four-month-old Elden, did not constitute child pornography.

That was the third time that Elden had attempted to sue the surviving members of the band – Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic – as well as the estate of Kurt Cobain, photographer Krik Weddle and numerous record labels.At that time, the court told Elden, now 32, that he would not be allowed to file a fourth lawsuit, and lawyers representing Nirvana dubbed the ruling a “final conclusion” to a saga that had begun back in August 2021.However, in December 2022, Elden moved to appeal the court’s dismissal.

He made the filing with California’s Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, seeking monetary damages for “extreme ongoing psychic or emotional injury”, saying that the judge had ruled erroneously on the basis that the suit was bound to a statute of limitations.Now, that court has reinstated his lawsuit in a ruling filed on Thursday (December 21).

According to an official summary, the decision was made “because each republication of child pornography may constitute a new personal injury, Elden’s complaint alleging republication of the album cover within the ten years preceding his action was not barred by the statute of limitations.”The ruling also states that “the question of whether the ‘Nevermind’ album cover meets the definition of child pornography is not at issue in this appeal.”Reacting to the new ruling, a lawyer representing Nirvana has said: “This procedural setback does not change our view.