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 North Carolina, a civil conspiracy is recognized when two or more persons agree to commit an unlawful act or a lawful act in an unlawful way, which results in damage to another person or property. The elements of a civil conspiracy in North Carolina align with the general elements described: there must be an agreement between parties (meeting of the minds), an unlawful act or series of acts in furtherance of the agreement, and damages resulting from those acts. It is important to note that each conspirator must have specific intent to achieve the unlawful objective. North Carolina law also stipulates that liability for acts committed by one member of the conspiracy can extend to all members, but only for acts that occur after the formation of the conspiracy and in furtherance of its objectives. Prior acts that occurred before the conspiracy was formed do not create liability for the other members. Civil conspiracy claims in North Carolina are governed by case law rather than specific statutes, meaning that the principles have been developed and refined through judicial decisions over time.