The long, strange saga of the ‘child pornography’ lawsuit filed against legendary grunge act Nirvana‘s surviving members and several associates has officially come to an end. That lawsuit was brought against the aforementioned parties by Spencer Elden, who appeared on the cover to the band’s diamond-certified 1991 album “Nevermind“. Elden, who is now in his early 30s, was the model for the infamous photograph that adorns the album’s cover and filed suit against the band and numerous others in August of 2021.
In his original suit, he claimed that the album cover had been taken without his consent and that his legal guardians did not offer their consent for the photograph. He went on to say that the photo, which shows his exposed genitalia as an infant, has gone on to cause him “lifelong damages”.
Notably, Elden had previously stated his father was originally compensated $200 for the photo. According to the defendants, Elden had also profited directly from his role in the cover art repeatedly over the years, having recreated the photo for a fee and tattooing ‘Nevermind’ across his chest.
Elden‘s lawsuit would later go on to be amended in November of 2021 narrowing his focus of defendants, while also dropping early claims of alleged child sex trafficking claims that had appeared in earlier versions of the suit in relation to his photography sessions.
In early January of this year, his suit was dismissed as a judge granted the defendants’ motion for dismissal, after Elden and his legal team failed to respond to the aforementioned request for dismissal in a timely fashion.
Following that, Elden once again amended and revived later that month. Per a final ruling handed down yesterday, September 02nd, U.S. District Judge Fernando Olguin has ruled that the case once again be dismissed, this time with prejudice. That ruling means that Elden will not be able to file the same complaint again. The judge cited concerns over the 10-year statue of limitations having far been exceeded in regards to Elden‘s claims.
Bert Deixler, who served as a lawyer for the defendants, told Reuters, “We are pleased that this meritless case has been brought to a speedy final conclusion.”
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