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 Washington State, a civil conspiracy is recognized as a cooperative effort between two or more parties to commit an unlawful act or a lawful act by unlawful means, resulting in damage to another person or property. The elements of a civil conspiracy in Washington generally align with the broader legal understanding, requiring a combination of parties with a shared objective, a 'meeting of the minds' to agree on the course of action, the commission of one or more overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracy, and damages resulting from those acts. Washington law emphasizes that for a party to be liable under a civil conspiracy theory, they must have specific intent and knowledge of the wrongful nature of the act at the time of agreement. Liability among conspirators is shared, meaning that the actions of one can lead to liability for all, but only for wrongful acts that occur after the formation of the conspiracy. These principles are derived from Washington's case law, as the state's statutes may not explicitly define civil conspiracy, leaving the courts to shape the doctrine through judicial decisions.