A civil conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to commit an unlawful act that causes damage to a person or property. A civil conspiracy is in contrast to a criminal conspiracy where the object of the conspiracy is to commit a criminal offense or crime.

Laws vary from state to state but the elements of a civil conspiracy claim are generally:

• two or more persons;

• an objective to be accomplished;

• a meeting of the minds on the objective or course of action;

• one or more unlawful, overt acts in furtherance of the objective; and

• damages as a proximate result.

An actionable civil conspiracy requires specific intent to agree to accomplish something unlawful or to accomplish something lawful by unlawful means. This inherently requires a meeting of the minds on the object or course of action.

Thus, an actionable civil conspiracy exists only as to those parties who are aware of the intended harm or proposed wrongful conduct at the outset of the combination or agreement.

The actions of one member in a conspiracy might support a finding of liability as to all of the members. But even where a conspiracy is established, wrongful acts by one member of the conspiracy that occurred before the agreement creating the conspiracy do not simply carry forward, tack on to the conspiracy, and support liability for each member of the conspiracy as to the prior acts.

Rather, for conspirators to have individual liability as a result of the conspiracy, the actions agreed to by the conspirators must cause the damages claimed.

Laws regarding civil conspiracy claims may be located in a state's statutes or in its court opinions—also known as common law or case law.

In California, a civil conspiracy is recognized as a cause of action when two or more persons agree to commit an unlawful act or a lawful act by unlawful means, which results in damage to another person or property. The elements required to establish a civil conspiracy in California are similar to those generally recognized: (1) the formation of a group of two or more persons who (2) intend to agree on an objective or course of action, (3) have a meeting of the minds on the objective, (4) commit one or more overt acts in furtherance of the objective, and (5) cause damages as a proximate result of the act(s). It is important to note that each member of the conspiracy must have specific intent and knowledge of the planned wrongful conduct at the time of the agreement. Liability among conspirators is shared, meaning that the actions of one can lead to liability for all, but only for wrongful acts that occur after the formation of the conspiracy. Prior acts do not create liability for the group unless they were part of the agreed-upon scheme. California's laws on civil conspiracy are derived from both statutory law and case law (common law).