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 Missouri, a civil conspiracy is recognized as a legal claim when two or more persons agree to commit an unlawful act or a lawful act in an unlawful manner, which results in damage to another person or property. The elements of a civil conspiracy in Missouri align with the general elements described: there must be an agreement between the parties (a meeting of the minds) to achieve an objective; the parties must commit one or more overt acts in furtherance of that objective; and these acts must cause damages to the plaintiff. Missouri law requires that each member of the conspiracy must have specific intent to accomplish the unlawful objective at the time of the agreement. Liability for civil conspiracy in Missouri is joint and several, meaning that the act of one conspirator can result in liability for all members of the conspiracy. However, wrongful acts committed by a conspirator prior to the formation of the conspiracy do not automatically impose liability on the other members for those prior acts. The damages claimed must be a direct result of the actions agreed upon within the conspiracy. Civil conspiracy claims in Missouri are typically addressed through common law, as derived from court opinions, rather than specific statutes.