Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ Album Cover Lawsuit Dismissed

A Federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against former band members of Nirvana (Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic), along with Kurt Cobain’s widow, Courtney Love, over the cover art on their 1991 album, Nevermind.

Spencer Elden sued the grunge-rock band last year, on the basis that the cover art is child pornography and that the band consciously issued and profited off of the album cover.  Elden, now thirty, was four months old when the picture of him swimming naked in a pool, chasing a dollar was taken.  He was seeking $150,000 in damages, claiming that he became a victim of sexual exploitation as a child.

The lawyers of Nirvana’s estate, however, claimed that as Elden had also profited from the photo most of his life, going as far as signing copies of the album and selling them on eBay, the case should be dismissed.  The other reasoning behind the motion was that Elden had promoted the album cover, from recreating the picture as an adult, to getting Nevermind tattooed on his chest, to even dubbing himself the ‘Nirvana Baby’.  The band’s lawyers also pointed out that the statute of limitations on the case had expired over ten years ago, so the case seemed ludicrous.

The defendants filed a motion for dismissal of the case in early December, and the plaintiff had until December 30 to respond.  However, Elden’s lawyers missed the deadline to reply to the motion and file an opposition for dismissal, and so, the case was dismissed by Californian judge Fernando M Olguin.

Elden’s legal team has until January 13 to refile the case.  If the legal team of the defendants choose to file for dismissal of the case once again, both sides of the lawsuit will meet on January 20 to discuss how to move forward.