Kurt Cobain's mother, sister ask L.A. judge to keep records closed in custody battle with Courtney Love

Kurt Cobain’s mother and sister are asking a Los Angeles judge to keep confidential all parts of a custody proceeding involving the late rocker’s 17-year-old daughter, including a restraining order against her mother, Courtney Love.

A Superior Court judge granted Cobain’s mother, Wendy O’Connor, and sister, Kimberly Dawn Cobain, temporary guardianship Dec. 11 of Frances Bean Cobain and her finances.

At the same time, Judge Reva Goetz issued a temporary restraining order barring Love “from certain behavior and from coming within a certain distance” of her daughter or her new guardians, according to court papers filed this week.

The filing by an attorney for the guardians urges the judge to seal the case to protect medical information about Frances contained in the documents as well as to keep private details of her apparently troubled relationship with her mother.

“In this proceeding, every document reveals details of Frances’s relationship with her mother,” lawyer Geraldine Wyle wrote.

Frances Cobain will not require any guardian after she turns 18 in August, and the attorney wrote, “the very fact that a guardianship proceeding is pending while her mother is living is an indication of personal problems in the family.”

Love’s attorney said last week that Frances was living with her mother in New York until recently. Lawyer Jim Janowitz said the teenager was supposed to travel to Washington state, where she has family, but instead went to Los Angeles.

“We did not know that this was coming,” he said of the court decision.

He dismissed reports that Love, who has grappled with substance addiction in the past, was using drugs.

“Her status is good. I think she is not having those kind of problems anymore,” he said.

Facebook postings attributed to Love bemoaned her loss of guardianship and blamed her in-laws. Frances “trusted the wrong people and got snookered into a circus,” one post read.

The case file is currently sealed pending a Jan. 22 hearing.

-- Harriet Ryan

Comments

[Cesar Vega]

Listen I know it is too late for criminal case to be made against Cortney for the odd death of Kurt. I mean not one fingerprint left on the shot gun after shooting heroin in to both arms is immposible to achieve try it stonned or drunk or sober without gloves. Her doughter is not stupid she knows the truth of vives and feelings given to her by her mother, this is the core issue here.

[Gary H]

GOOD FOR HER! I feel its a little too late for that though. When Frances turns 18, she has the choice to be around Courtney, or not. I hope she has a good head on her shoulders and does not take after her mother in any way, I wish Frances the best.

[Nolo]

Ridiculous that our public courts would have to entertain such a request when it is not a matter of valid state secrets, or even a secret corporate patent. This is simply celebrity desires to minimize family drama. No one is going to die, and it's our tax dollars you want to use to promote your self interests. Who cares about this whacked out family and their relationship to each other, but the courts are a public forum. If you want privacy, work out the details outside of court.

[Vel]

I think it was very smart of Frances' grandmother to ask the court to keep all this confidential. It's nobody's business and the jerks who want to sell information for profit will have to go elsewhere to get their fix. I wish Frances good luck and God speed.

[Karl]

I think the family's request is completely sane. No one needs to know the personal business or history of a teenage youth. Honestly.

[die Court iz verbaten]

Cesar Vega. Your statements make me wonder how cold cases get opended up again in the USA. If only they would. I read somewhere that Court-nee had already started to blab about it being people like Kurt's mother and family who caused Kurt's death... as in instead of Herself, The Highness of Sleazbag ... in case that was why even her own kid hates her and left.

Court-nee is awefully skinny nowadays for a 45 year old woman who ballooned when the Courts took her drugs away.

[ladyofargonne]

Courtney Love's problems are not due to substance abuse. She was a low life to start with.

[Diane]

Cesar, there is no statute of limitations on murder. The case could be reopened at any time. And there were fingerprints on the gun, they we just illegible (not unusual; most crime scenes don't have useable prints). The coroner said he knew Kurt's fingerprints were on the gun as as (the coroner) he saw the gun in Kurt's hands. (quoted in the book Heaver Than Heaven).

I also agree the parties should have the right to keep court matters private. Nolo, you might be surprised to learn how many people do this that are not "celebrities." I don't understand yr logic of "tax dollars used to promote self interest." Seems to me that would be the case if the docs were left unsealed. And you obviously do care about the "whacked out family" or you wouldn't have bothered to read the story and post a comment. The courts are not a "public forum" either.

[andy ellwood]

if kurt did ever want fame n fortune i'm pretty sure he never wanted all this hassle for Frances.Roll on August when she can finely be free.As for kurt i dont know all the in's n outs no one ever will,what kurt truely felt or thought, i just know he touched my life and for that i'm grateful.Rest in peace kurt, be happy Frances,its truely the only thing that matters in this world

[Pumpkin]

Kurt's mom saw how being in the public eye ultimatey ruined her son's life and she just trying to make sure that the same problems don't affect her grand-daughters life

I hope Frances Bean has a good life and that the media just leave her alone because she never chose to be famous.

[skye]

I wasn't a Kurt Cobain fan, but just happened to watch a movie yesterday about Kurt and Courtney, something like that. I was amazed that Courtney's own dad felt that she possibly murdered him and that someone claimed that she offered them 50K to murder Kurt, passed a lie detector test on it, then died themselves. I'm amazed that with these smoking guns that foul play could have likely been involved the case was closed as a suicide.