Terms Used In Kansas Statutes 60-426a

  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.

The following provisions apply, in the circumstances set out, to disclosure of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work-product protection.

(a) Disclosure made in a court or agency proceeding; scope of waiver. When the disclosure is made in a court or agency proceeding and waives the attorney-client privilege or work-product protection, the waiver extends to an undisclosed communication or information in any proceeding only if:

(1) The waiver is intentional;

(2) the disclosed and undisclosed communications or information concern the same subject matter; and

(3) they ought in fairness be considered together.

(b) Inadvertent disclosure. When made in a court or agency proceeding, the disclosure does not operate as a waiver in any proceeding if:

(1) The disclosure is inadvertent;

(2) the holder of the privilege or protection took reasonable steps to prevent disclosure; and

(3) the holder promptly took reasonable steps to rectify the error, including, if applicable, following subsection (b)(7)(B) of Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-226, and amendments thereto.

(c) Disclosure made in a non-Kansas proceeding. When the disclosure is made in a non-Kansas proceeding and is not the subject of a court order concerning waiver, the disclosure does not operate as a waiver in a Kansas proceeding if the disclosure:

(1) Would not be a waiver under this section if it had been made in a Kansas proceeding; or

(2) is not a waiver under the law of the jurisdiction where the disclosure occurred.

(d) Controlling effect of a court order. A court may order that the privilege or protection is not waived by disclosure connected with the litigation pending before the court, in which event the disclosure is also not a waiver in any other proceeding.

(e) Controlling effect of a party agreement. An agreement on the effect of disclosure in a proceeding is binding only on the parties to the agreement, unless it is incorporated into a court order.

(f) Definitions. As used in this section:

(1) “Attorney-client privilege” means the protection that applicable law provides for confidential attorney-client communications.

(2) “Work-product protection” means the protection that applicable law provides for tangible material, or its intangible equivalent, prepared in anticipation of litigation or for trial.