The court rejected the lawsuit of the man who posed as a toddler on the album Nirvany – SME.sk

THE ANGELES. The man, who appeared as a naked toddler three decades ago on the cover of the groundbreaking album Nevermind by the American grunge band Nirvana, failed in court to sue the formation for sexual exploitation.

The California court dismissed the case on procedural grounds, saying Spencer Elden’s law team missed the deadline for filing an objection against Nirvana’s lawyers’ December motion to dismiss the case.

Elden’s team has time to re-file the lawsuit by Jan. 13, the AFP news agency reported on Tuesday.

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Four-month-old Elden was photographed naked in a swimming pool in 1991, reaching for a dollar bill. The subject picture has become one of the most iconic covers of music albums of all time. So far, 30 million pieces of Nevermind have been sold.

The songs on it – Smells Like Teen Spirit, Come As You Are, Lithium, In Bloom or Something in the Way – have become a basic criterion of American pop culture.

However, neither Elden nor his lawyers have ever signed an authorization to use any of his images or portraits, according to the original lawsuit. According to court documents, Elden never received financial compensation for the photo.

Elden demanded $ 150,000 in damages from each of the 15 defendants, including the former former band members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, as well as the heirs of the late singer Kurt Cobain and photographer Kirk Weddle.

The lawsuit alleges that Elden suffered, among other consequences, “extreme and lasting emotional damage” as well as “a lifelong loss of opportunity to earn”.

Lawyers representing the Nirvana group said in a December motion that the limitation period had expired more than a decade ago, calling Elden’s claim that photography constituted child pornography absurd.

Kirk Weddle – the author of the picture – was a friend of Elden’s father at the time of the album’s cover. The toddler’s parents received a $ 200 famous photo later.