A US appeals court has reopened a trial in which rock band Nirvana is accused of publishing images of child sexual exploitation by using a photograph of a naked four-month-old baby on the cover of its 1991 hit album Nevermind, The Guardian and News reported. .ro.

An appeals court overturned a lower court’s decision that Spencer Elden’s child waited too long to file a lawsuit against the Seattle grunge band. The court did not decide whether the “Nevermind” album cover is a depiction of child sexual abuse.

“This procedural error does not change our position,” Nirvana attorney Bert Deixler said Thursday. “We will vigorously defend this meritless case and hope to win,” he added.

Elden’s attorney, Robert Lewis, said his client was “very pleased with the decision and looks forward to his day in court.”

How Nirvana was sued over the Nevermind album.

Elden, now 32, first sued the band and record label Universal Music Group in 2021, accusing them of sexual exploitation and personal injury after he appeared on the cover of their “Nevermind” album.

Other defendants include Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, the surviving members of Nirvana, Courtney Love, the widow of late lead singer Kurt Cobain, and photographer Kirk Weddle.

The lawsuit was related to Nirvana’s use of a photograph taken by Weddle at the Pasadena Aquatic Center in California, showing Elden swimming naked toward a dollar bill stuck on a fishing hook.

U.S. District Judge Fernando Holgin in Los Angeles said last year that Elden’s lawsuit should be dismissed because he did not file within the 10-year statute of limitations.

That decision was overturned in a unanimous 9th Circuit decision Thursday. The appeals court said Elden could still sue based on recent reissues of Nirvana covers, including a reissue of the 2021 Nevermind album.