According to Rolling Stone, a January 3 ruling by Judge Fernando M. Olguin at the U.S. District Court in Central California sees the case brought by 30-year-old Spencer Elden — who appeared on the album cover nude when he was four months old and now alleges child sexual exploitation — dismissed on the grounds that the plaintiff failed to respond to a December 30 deadline on a December 22 motion to dismiss filed by Nirvana and the other defendants.
Per the ruling, however, Elden will have one more chance to issue a second amended complaint with a new deadline of January 13; if he doesn’t, the suit will be dismissed without prejudice (which means another suit could be filed in the future).
Elden’s attorneys at Marsh Law said they will pursue an amended complaint, telling Rolling Stone, “In accordance with the Court’s order we will be filing a Second Amended Complaint very soon. We are confident that Spencer will be allowed to move forward with the case.”
Nirvana’s recent legal response outlined their belief that the suit was brought years after the statute of limitations had run out by a man who had long embraced the image, noting that Elden had “re-enacted the photograph in exchange for a fee” multiple times and has the name of the album tattooed on his chest.
“There is no doubt that Elden’s claims will fail on the merits,” Nirvana’s lawyers wrote. “Elden’s claims fail, at the outset, because they are time-barred. Elden asserts two causes of action, one under the federal statute that permits victims of certain federal child pornography criminal offenses to sue for civil damages; and another under the federal statute that permits victims of certain trafficking crimes to sue for civil damages. Neither cause of action is timely.”
Read more about the latest in the case at rollingstone.com.
Featuring the hits “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Come As You Are”, the band’s second album helped trigger a change in music culture as alternative and grunge music merged with the mainstream; it knocked Michael Jackson of the top of the US Billboard 200 and went on to sell more than 30 million copies worldwide, including 10 million in the US.
Last fall, Nirvana released a series of expanded editions of “Nevermind” to mark the project’s 30th anniversary, while “Smells Like Teen Spirit” passed one billion streams on Spotify early last year.
See also:
Nirvana respond to Nevermind cover lawsuit
Amended Nirvana Nevermind lawsuit cites Kurt Cobain journal entries
Nirvana stream unreleased 1992 live version of Lithium
Nirvana expand Nevermind for 30th anniversary reissues
Search Foo Fighters at hennemusic
Search Nirvana at hennemusic
