Nevermind Baby’s Lawsuit Against Nirvana Dismissed By Judge

Nevermind Baby’s Lawsuit Against Nirvana Dismissed By Judge

A judge has dismissed the Nevermind baby’s case against Nirvana, but the saga may not be over yet.

Spencer Elden, who, once upon a time, was the baby on the cover of Nirvana’s Nevermind, filed a lawsuit against the band back in August. The suit alleged that the cover image was child pornography, that neither Elden (who was four months old at the time) nor his legal guardians consented to his naked genitalia appearing on the album, and that the band had reneged on a promise to cover his private parts with a strategically placed sticker. Elden sought to receive $150,000 from each party named in the suit, which includes Nirvana, the estate of Kurt Cobain and its managers Guy Oseary and Heather Parry, surviving members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, photographer Kirk Weddle, and the labels involved in releasing the album.

Elden’s lawyer was immediately grilled and grilled and ridiculed on CNN, and Dave Grohl hinted that future reissues of the album might change the cover image in response to Elden’s lawsuit. Then, just before Christmas, the band shared an official statement on the lawsuit, writing that Elden filed it beyond the statute of limitations for such infractions and that “Elden’s claim that the photograph on the Nevermind album cover is ‘child pornography’ is, on its face, not serious.” The statement continued, “A brief examination of the photograph, or Elden’s own conduct (not to mention the photograph’s presence in the homes of millions of Americans who, on Elden’s theory, are guilty of felony possession of child pornography) makes that clear.”

After Nirvana filed their motion to dismiss the case, Elden was given a Dec. 30 deadline to file an opposition to that motion. Because Elden missed that deadline, Judge Fernando M. Olguin, a US District Court judge in Central California, dismissed the case last night, Variety reports. However, the dismissal was made “with leave to amend,” so Elden can file a new complaint by Jan. 13 addressing the “defects” Nirvana’s team identified in his original suit. If Elden misses that deadline, the suit will be dismissed “without prejudice” and the case will be officially closed.

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