civil conspiracy

noun | \ kən-ˈspir-ə-sē \ | con·spir·a·cy

1. : an agreement between two or more people to commit an act prohibited by law or to commit a lawful act by means prohibited by law; also : the crime or tort of participating in a conspiracy — compare substantive crime : the crime or tort of participating in a conspiracy — compare substantive crime

   Note: Some states require an overt act in addition to the agreement to constitute conspiracy.

   — chain conspiracy
   : a conspiracy in which the conspirators act separately and successively (as in distributing narcotics)

   — civil conspiracy
   : a conspiracy that is not prosecuted as a crime but that forms the grounds for a lawsuit

   — criminal conspiracy
   : a conspiracy prosecuted as a crime

2. : a group of conspirators