LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� A federal appeals court on Thursday revived a child sexual exploitation lawsuit filed by the man who appeared naked as a 4-month-old on the cover of Nirvana鈥檚 1991 album 鈥淣evermind.鈥�
Spencer Elden's lawsuit against the grunge rock group alleges that he has suffered 鈥減ermanent harm鈥� as the band and others profited from the image of him underwater in a swimming pool, appearing to grab for a dollar bill on a fish hook.
The suit says the image violated federal laws on child sexual abuse material, although no criminal charges were ever sought.
A federal judge in California threw out the lawsuit last year but allowed Elden to file a revised version, which the judge later dismissed on grounds that it was outside the 10-year statute of limitations of one of the laws used as a cause of action.
Thursday's decision by a three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in California reversed that ruling and sent the case back to the lower court.
The appellate panel found that each republication of an image 鈥渕ay constitute a new personal injury鈥� with a new deadline and cited the image's appearance on a 30th anniversary reissue of 鈥淣evermind鈥� in 2021.
鈥淭he question whether the 鈥楴evermind鈥� album cover meets the definition of child pornography is not at issue in this appeal,鈥� the court wrote, according to the .
In an email to The Associated Press, Nirvana attorney Bert Deixler called the ruling a 鈥減rocedural setback.鈥�
鈥淲e will defend this meritless case with vigor and expect to prevail,鈥� he wrote.
The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been victims of sexual abuse unless they come forward publicly, as Elden has.
The Associated Press
