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 Vermont, a civil conspiracy is recognized when two or more persons agree to commit an unlawful act or a lawful act by unlawful means, which results in damage to another person or property. The elements of a civil conspiracy in Vermont typically include an agreement between the parties, a common objective, a meeting of the minds on how to achieve that objective, the commission of one or more unlawful acts in furtherance of the objective, and damages resulting from those acts. It is essential that each member of the conspiracy have a specific intent to achieve the unlawful objective, and they must be aware of the intended harm or wrongful conduct from the beginning. Liability in a civil conspiracy is shared among the conspirators; however, wrongful acts committed by an individual conspirator prior to the formation of the conspiracy do not automatically impose liability on all members for those acts. Instead, the agreed-upon actions within the conspiracy must be the cause of the claimed damages for individual liability to attach. Vermont's laws on civil conspiracy are derived from common law, as interpreted by court opinions, rather than specific state statutes.