There's no Love loss in fight to steer Nirvana enterprises

A Washington state judge denied a motion Wednesday by Kurt Cobain's former bandmates seeking a psychiatric evaluation of his widow, Courtney Love, as part of the increasingly contentious legal fight over who will control the legacy of Nirvana.

In denying the much-publicized motion by Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, King County Superior Court Judge Robert H. Alsdorf wrote that, while it is "not without reason" for the defendants to claim that Love is "mercurial," forcing her to submit to "a mental examination in response to a marketing dispute would serve no purpose other than to contribute a circuslike atmosphere to the trial."

Love is suing Grohl and Novoselic in an effort to dissolve Nirvana L.L.C., a limited liability corporation established in the wake of Cobain's suicide to control the band's posthumous releases. Love contends that as the representative of Cobain's estate, she should have more control over future releases by the band than the two musicians, since Cobain wrote the majority of the songs, and Grohl and Novoselic were essentially hired hands.

The defendants' attorney, Kelly Corr, told the Sun-Times in March that Love's suit is without merit and is simply an effort to focus attention away from her other legal fight with the Universal Music Group, the label for her former band Hole.

"She is a fool if she doesn't settle with us, because we're going to go to court and we're gonna beat her," Corr said. "Come on out for the trial. It will be a hell of a lot of fun-a real circus!"