§ 25-2914.Confidentiality; exceptions.

Section 25-2914 is the confidentiality backbone of Nebraska mediation practice. Any verbal, written, or electronic communication made in or connected with a matter referred to mediation — whether spoken to the mediator, a center’s staff, another party, or anyone else in the room — stays confidential if it relates to the dispute being mediated. So does whatever agreement comes out of the session.

The statute treats mediation as settlement negotiation for evidentiary purposes: nothing said, admitted, or represented during mediation that would not otherwise be discoverable or obtainable becomes admissible in a later proceeding just because it happened during mediation. That protection extends to the mediator personally — a mediator cannot be forced through a subpoena or similar process to disclose what happened during the session unless every party consents to waive that protection.

Waiver has to be deliberate and specific. All parties can agree, in writing, to release confidentiality over particular communications or materials tied to the mediation session or the resulting agreement — but nothing gets disclosed by default. And the confidentiality protections themselves have three built-in limits: they do not apply if a party sues the mediator or the center, if the communication was made to further a crime or fraud, or if keeping it confidential would conflict with some other legal requirement.