(1) Prior to instituting any legal action in a federal or state court on behalf of a mentally ill individual or a person with developmental disabilities, the protection and advocacy system shall exhaust in a timely manner all administrative remedies when appropriate. If, in pursuing administrative remedies, the system determines that any matter with respect to such individual will not be resolved within a reasonable time, the system may pursue alternative remedies, including the initiation of legal action.

Terms Used In Nebraska Statutes 20-166

  • Action: shall include any proceeding in any court of this state. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
  • Person: shall include bodies politic and corporate, societies, communities, the public generally, individuals, partnerships, limited liability companies, joint-stock companies, and associations. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
  • State: when applied to different states of the United States shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories organized by Congress. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801

(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to any legal action instituted to prevent or eliminate imminent serious harm to a mentally ill individual or a person with developmental disabilities.