According to Billboard, on December 21, a federal appeals court revived an alleged child pornography lawsuit against Nirvana that was filed by the man who appeared as a nude baby on the cover of Nirvana’s 1991 album Nevermind. Spencer Elden allegedly claims the photo allegedly violated federal child pornography laws by allegedly displaying a sexualized image of a minor. But an alleged lower court ruled last year that Elden allegedly had waited far too long to allegedly bring his alleged lawsuit.
In a decision to overturn the original ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that each alleged new republication of the image could allegedly constitute a new alleged “injury” to Elden, which would allegedly reset the statute of limitations.
“Victims of child pornography may suffer a new injury upon the republication of the pornographic material,” Judge Sandra Segal Ikuta allegedly wrote for a three judge panel. “This conclusion is consistent with the Supreme Court’s view that every viewing of child pornography is a repetition of the victim’s abuse.”
The new ruling does not mean that Elden has won the case. The lawsuit will now return to a lower court, where Elden must actually prove that the alleged image meets the definition of alleged child pornography.
In a statement to Billboard, Nirvana’s attorney Bert Deixler called the alleged ruling a “procedural setback” that allegedly did not affect their core arguments: “We will defend this meritless case with vigor and expect to prevail.”