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 Alabama, a civil conspiracy is recognized as an agreement between two or more persons to commit an unlawful act or to commit a lawful act by unlawful means, which results in damage to a person or property. The elements of a civil conspiracy in Alabama typically include: the existence of two or more persons who agree to a plan, the formation of an agreement or a meeting of the minds on the objective or course of action, the commission of one or more unlawful overt acts in furtherance of the agreed-upon objective, and the occurrence of damages as a proximate result of the acts. It is important to note that specific intent to agree on the unlawful objective is required, and only those parties who are aware of the intended harm or wrongful conduct at the beginning of the agreement are considered part of the conspiracy. Liability among conspirators is joint, meaning that the actions of one conspirator can result in liability for all members of the conspiracy. However, wrongful acts by a conspirator that occurred before the formation of the conspiracy do not automatically create liability for the other members for those prior acts. For individual liability to attach to each conspirator, the agreed-upon actions must be the cause of the claimed damages. Alabama's laws on civil conspiracy are derived from both state statutes and case law.