• Spencer Elden’s lawsuit was based on Nirvana’s iconic 1991 album cover.
• The 31-year-old claimed that his inclusion on the cover amounted to child sexual abuse.
• He maintained that he hadn’t been able to give his permission for the image to be used.

A man’s most recent case against Nirvana was dismissed by a US judge because it was based on the band’s iconic 1991 album cover, which featured him as a naked baby.

Spencer Elden, 31, claimed that his inclusion on the cover of the Nevermind album amounted to child sex assault.

But the judge claimed that he had made his accusation of being taken advantage of too late.

As he cannot re-file the case, Mr. Elden’s legal options are now all but closed, though his legal team told US media he will fight the decision.

The complaint was centred on a picture of Mr. Elden swimming naked in a pool toward a $1 bill that had been pierced by a fish hook.

He maintained that he hadn’t been able to give his permission for the image to be used. He demanded damages in the amount of $150,000 (£130,000).

The accused included the late musician Kurt Cobain’s widow Courtney Love, former Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, and photographer Kirk Weddle.

Mr. Elden filed his lawsuit in 2021, claiming that because the image had continued to upset him and cost him money far into adulthood, he was still entitled to complain about it.

After being dropped, the lawsuit was re-filed in January.

On Friday, a judge in Los Angeles declared that Mr. Elden had filed his lawsuit well after the 10-year statute of limitations had expired.

A defence attorney praised the decision, calling the case “meritless.”

The defence claimed that Mr. Elden had taken pleasure in his status as the “Nirvana baby,” pointing out that he later recreated the scene from the photograph.

In 1991, a band that was at the time relatively unknown compensated Mr. Elden’s parents $200 (£173) for the image.

Nevermind became one of the best-selling albums of all time after reaching 30 million global sales.

[embedpost slug=”/nevermind-baby-album-cover-lawsuit-dismissed-for-sexual-exploitation/”]