§ 25-21,263.Privileges; sections; how construed.

Article 21: Special Proceedings and Actions · Last amended 1998 · Last verified July 22, 2026

In one sentenceThis section makes clear that Nebraska’s environmental audit-privilege statutes work alongside, not instead of, every other legal privilege already available, including the attorney-client privilege and the work-product doctrine.

Full Text of § 25-21,263

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Sections 25-21,254 to 25-21,262 do not limit, waive, or abrogate the scope or nature of any statutory or common-law privilege, including the work-product

doctrine and the attorney-client privilege.

Source

Laws 1998, LB 395, § 10.

Plain-English Summary

A company facing possible environmental liability often has more than one reason to keep certain documents confidential. It might invoke the audit privilege created by sections 25-21,254 to 25-21,262. It might also invoke the attorney-client privilege, because a lawyer helped prepare the audit, or the work-product doctrine, because the audit was produced in anticipation of litigation. Section 25-21,263 makes sure these protections do not cancel each other out.

The section states that sections 25-21,254 to 25-21,262 do not limit, waive, or abrogate any statutory or common-law privilege, naming the work-product doctrine and the attorney-client privilege specifically. In practice, a party asserting the environmental audit privilege has not given up any other privilege it might independently hold over the same material, and the audit privilege does not narrow protections that existed before Nebraska adopted it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does asserting Nebraska’s environmental audit privilege waive the attorney-client privilege over the same documents?

No. Section 25-21,263 states that the audit-privilege statutes do not limit, waive, or abrogate the attorney-client privilege or any other statutory or common-law privilege.

Does the audit privilege replace the work-product doctrine?

No. The work-product doctrine continues to apply on its own terms; the audit privilege supplements it rather than substituting for it.

Can a party rely on more than one privilege to protect the same audit document?

Yes. This section preserves every other privilege a party may hold, so a company can rely on the audit privilege and, separately, on attorney-client or work-product protection where each applies.

What sections does section 25-21,263 protect from being read too narrowly?

Sections 25-21,254 to 25-21,262, the statutes that establish Nebraska’s environmental audit privilege.

Is this section limited to the attorney-client privilege and work product, or is it broader?

It is broader. It refers to any statutory or common-law privilege, and names the work-product doctrine and the attorney-client privilege only as examples.

Source & verification. Section text and the amendment-history citation are reproduced verbatim from the Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes, enacted by the Nebraska Legislature. Last verified July 22, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: audit privilege and attorney client privilegework product doctrine nebraska auditprivilege not waived by environmental auditnebraska audit privilege scopeenvironmental audit privileges preserved