What are the elements of a civil conspiracy claim?
In South Dakota, a civil conspiracy claim contains four elements. First, two or more persons must conspire and act together for the purpose of committing an unlawful act. Second, these persons must act with a common purpose and have a course of action toward achieving the unlawful goal. Third, the defendants must agree to cooperate in the process, whether verbally or in writing. Finally, the agreement must result in injury or some type of harm to the plaintiff. In order to prove a civil conspiracy claim, the plaintiff must provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that a conspiracy existed and that the other parties involved knew about it and actively participated in it. It is not necessary for the plaintiff to prove that the conspirators actually carried out the wrongful act; instead, the plaintiff must only prove that a agreement was reached to do something illegal. As an example, if two parties agree to form a company for the purpose of price fixing, the plaintiff only needs to show evidence of the agreement, not evidence that the parties actually carried out the agreement. Meeting all four elements of the civil conspiracy claim in South Dakota is a necessary condition for proving liability. Generally, to win a civil conspiracy claim, the plaintiff must provide evidence that actively demonstrates the facts supporting each element of the claim. If the plaintiff is unable to show that the defendants conspired to commit an unlawful act, the court will dismiss the case.
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