Overview
- U.S. District Judge Fernando M. Olguin granted summary judgment on Sept. 30, dismissing Spencer Elden’s lawsuit over the 1991 album cover.
- The ruling found that, absent sexual intent, the photo is analogous to a family snapshot of a bathing child and cannot be deemed lascivious.
- The judge noted Elden’s repeated reenactments, sales of autographed covers, and public embrace of the “Nirvana Baby” persona as undermining his claimed harms.
- The case had been revived by the Ninth Circuit in 2023 on a republication theory after an earlier statute‑of‑limitations dismissal.
- Defendants included Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, the Cobain estate, photographer Kirk Weddle, and record labels, and Elden retains the option to appeal.