US Photographer's Court Case Against Amy Taylor Goes To Judicial Ruling Following Settlement Rejection

“I am prepared to proceed and seek clarity from the Court," said photographer Jamie Nelson.

The ongoing court case between US photographer Jamie Nelson and Amy Taylor of Amyl And The Sniffers is heading to a judicial ruling, with both sides reportedly rejecting a settlement offer.

The case has been bubbling away for a few months now, with the dispute itself tracing back 2024, when Nelson had initially been recruited by Amyl And The Sniffers’ manager with the intent of securing her services for a shoot regarding the band's then-upcoming Cartoon Darkness album.

Though this photoshoot reportedly fell through due to an alleged disagreement of terms, it is claimed that Nelson made contact with Taylor to organise another photoshoot, with the images to exclusively appear in the July 2025 edition of Vogue Portugal as part of a series titled Champagne Problems.

It is alleged that Nelson made contact with Taylor in the hopes of obtaining permission to sell the images as art prints, but was told by the band’s manager that she did not have license or permission to do so.

Despite this, a lawsuit filed by Taylor in December claimed that the images were offered and promoted on Nelson’s website and social platforms regardless, with the photographer allegedly refusing to comply with requests to remove all images from her website and social media accounts.

Nelson refutes this, instead having claimed that she had received “responses [that] escalated in a way that [she] experienced as harassment," and having filed a restraining order prior to Taylor's lawsuit.

In February, Nelson filed a counterclaim against Taylor for copyright infringement, and expanding her lawsuit to include "the band entity, Amyl and the Sniffers, and John Angus Stewart of PHC Films—Amy Taylor’s husband—who I contend published defamatory and untrue statements alongside one of my copyrighted images."

While a Los Angeles Superior Court judge declined Nelson’s appeal for a restraining order last month, the copyright case continued, with court-ordered mediation resulting in both sides declining settlement offers this week.

In a statement provided to The Music, Nelson has noted that she will now proceed toward a "judicial ruling on key legal issues involving copyright and publicity rights," adding that the Court had previously "dismissed Taylor’s federal false endorsement claim under the Lanham Act as legally insufficient," and denying Taylor's motion for default against Nelson on March 30th.

“While I remain open to reasonable resolution, this case raises broader questions about how photographers’ rights are treated when creative work intersects with public figures and the music industry,” Nelson said in a statement.

“I am prepared to proceed and seek clarity from the Court.”

The next hearing in relation to these matters will take place on April 27th, with the Court expected to issue further rulings.