A U.S. appeals court has reinstated a lawsuit accusing the rock band Nirvana of publishing child sexual abuse images by using a photo of a naked four-month-old baby on the cover of their hit 1991 album “Nevermind.” .
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court's ruling that Spencer Elden, the baby featured on the cover, waited too long to file suit against the seminal Seattle grunge band.
The court did not address the question of whether the cover of “Nevermind” depicted an image of child sexual abuse.
“This procedural setback does not change our view,” said Nirvana lawyer Bert Deixler on Thursday. “We will vigorously defend this meritless case and hope to prevail.”
Elden's attorney Robert Lewis said Elden was “very pleased with the decision and looks forward to his day in court.”
Elden, now 32, first sued the band and its label, Universal Music Group, in 2021, accusing them of sexually exploiting him and further causing him personal harm through his depiction on the “Nevermind” album cover.
US rock group Nirvana in October 1990. Photo: Pictorial Press Ltd/AlamyOther defendants include surviving Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, late singer Kurt Cobain's widow Courtney Love, and photographer Kirk Weddle.
The lawsuit stemmed from Nirvana's use of a photo taken by Weddle at the Pasadena Aquatic Center in California, which showed Elden swimming naked toward a dollar bill stuck to a fishing hook.
U.S. District Judge Fernando Olguin in Los Angeles said last year that Elden's lawsuit should be dismissed because he did not sue within a 10-year statute of limitations after learning of the coverage.
A unanimous panel of the 9th Circuit reversed the decision on Thursday. The appeals court said Elden could still sue because Nirvana had republished the cover more recently, including in a 2021 re-release of “Nevermind.”