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 South Dakota, a civil conspiracy is recognized as a combination of two or more persons to accomplish an unlawful purpose or to accomplish a lawful purpose by unlawful means, resulting in damage to the plaintiff. The elements of a civil conspiracy in South Dakota generally include an agreement between the parties to achieve an illegal objective or a legal objective through illegal means, a meeting of the minds on the objective or course of action, one or more overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracy, and damages as a proximate result of the conspiracy. Each conspirator must have a specific intent to achieve the unlawful outcome, and they must be aware of the intended harm or wrongful conduct at the beginning of their agreement. Liability among conspirators is shared, meaning that the actions of one can lead to liability for all, but only for the wrongful acts that occur after the formation of the conspiracy and in furtherance of its objectives. South Dakota's laws on civil conspiracy are derived from case law rather than specific statutes.