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 New Jersey, 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 damages to another party. The elements of a civil conspiracy in New Jersey align with the general elements described: there must be a combination of two or more persons, an agreement or a meeting of the minds to achieve the objective, an unlawful act or acts in furtherance of the conspiracy, and damages resulting from those acts. New Jersey case law requires that each member of the conspiracy must have specific intent and knowledge of the intended harm or wrongful conduct at the time the agreement is made. Liability among conspirators is joint and several, meaning that the act of one conspirator in furtherance of the conspiracy can result in liability for all members. 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 must be a direct result of the actions undertaken by the group pursuant to their conspiratorial agreement. This area of law is primarily governed by New Jersey's common law, as established through court decisions, rather than specific state statutes.