After his lawsuit was rejected in 2022, Spencer Elden is now taking Nirvana to court again.
Spencer Elden is pictured on the cover of Nirvana’s NEVERMIND album as a naked baby diving behind a dollar bill. The now 31-year-old claimed for the first time in 2021 that the legendary cover of Nirvana’s album NEVERMIND was child pornography and took it to court. The lawsuit was dismissed in September 2022. Now Elden is appealing.
The court’s decision
When the lawsuit was dismissed last year, the Los Angeles District Court explained its dismissal because Elden had waited too long. He would have known about a possible violation of the law for more than a decade. Because he did not take legal action, possible claims have now lapsed.
In agreement with the plaintiff, this stated United States Court of Appeals However, the new decision states that the 10-year limitation period is not necessarily excluded. That’s why the “Nirvana baby” was able to appeal.
Specifically, the court’s decision states:
“Like victims of defamation, victims of child pornography may suffer a new injury when the pornographic material is republished. Therefore, we conclude that any republication of child pornography may constitute a new personal injury, analogous to defamation and other violations of dignity. This conclusion is consistent with the Supreme Court’s view that “any viewing of child pornography is a repetition of the abuse of the victim.” However, this does not determine whether the cover with the naked baby is child pornography.
The appeals court’s new decision sends the case back to federal court in Los Angeles, where Elden and his lawyers can move toward a trial.
Defense statement
Defense attorney Bert H. Deixler, who represents the band Nirvana, commented on the appeal: “This procedural setback does not change our view. “We will vigorously defend this baseless lawsuit and expect to prevail,” he wrote in a statement to Rolling Stone. In previous filings, Nirvana’s lawyers argued that Spencer Elden’s willingness to identify with the NEVERMIND cover over the years showed he suffered no harm.
In fact, the 31-year-old has repeatedly tried to gain fame and money as the “Nirvana Baby” in recent years. Among other things, he recreated the record cover several times himself. On the 25th anniversary of the album, he jumped into a pool to get some publicity; In a change to the original aesthetic, but with swimming trunks. He had also posed many times with the tattoo logo NEVERMIND tattooed on his chest. According to the band portal “Nirvana.Fandom”, the photo fee agreed by his parents with underwater photographer Kirk Weddle was just $200.