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1. A conspiracy between two or more parties;
2. To do an unlawful act or to do a lawful act by unlawful means;
3. The execution of some overt act in pursuance of the conspiracy; and
4. Plaintiff suffers damage as a result of the acts performed through the conspiracy.

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1. A conspiracy between two or more parties;
2. To do an unlawful act or to do a lawful act by unlawful means;
3. The execution of some overt act in pursuance of the conspiracy; and
4. Plaintiff suffers damage as a result of the acts performed through the conspiracy.

The underlying wrongful act ordinarily must constitute an independent cause of action against at least one of the conspirators (see Kee v. National Reserve Life Ins. Co., 918 F. 2d 1538, 1541 (11th Cir. 1990) unless the plaintiff can show the conspirators possessed, by virtue of their association, some peculiar power of coercion that an individual would not otherwise possess. A conspiracy claim absent an underlying tort is sometimes called an economic boycott and requires malicious motive and coercion through numbers or economic influence. See Churruca v. Miami Jai-alai Inc., 353 So. 2d 547, 550 (Fla. 1977).

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FLORIDA STATE COURTS

Supreme Court: Philip Morris USA, Inc. v. Russo, 175 So.3d 681, 686 n.9 (Fla.2015); Churruca v. Miami Jai-alai Inc., 353 So. 2d 547, 550 (Fla. 1977).

First District: Kurnow v. Abbott, 114 So.3d 1099, 1102 n.4 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013).

Second District: Logan v. Morgan Lewis & Bockius, 350 So. 3d 404, 410 (Fla. 2^nd DCA 2022); Olson v. Johnson, 961 So.2d 356, 359 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007).

Third District: Philip Morris USA Inc. v. Holliman, 2022 WL 17659809, *3 (Fla. 3d DCA Dec. 14, 2022); GE Real Estate Services, Inc. v. Mandich Real Estate Advisors, Inc., 2021 WL 6129766, *3 (Fla. 3d DCA Dec. 29, 2021); MP, LLC v. Sterling Holding, LLC, 231 So.3d 517, 521-22 (Fla. 3d DCA 2017); Phelan v. Lawhon, 229 So.3d 853, 858 (Fla. 3d DCA 2017).

Fourth District: Gordon v. Bethel, 2023 WL 2995185, *5 (Fla. 4th DCA 2023); R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Neff, 325 So.3d 872, 884 (Fla. 4^th DCA 2021); Gilison v. Flagler Bank, 303 So. 3d 999, 1004 (Fla. 4th DCA 2020); Russo v. Fink, 87 So.3d 815, 819 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012).

Fifth District: Olesen v. GE Capital Corp., 135 So. 3d 389, 398-399 (Fla. 5th DCA 2014).

FLORIDA FEDERAL COURTS

Eleventh Circuit: In re Harris, 3 F.4^th 1339, 1350-51 (11^th Cir. 2021); In re Harris, No. 19-11286, 2021 WL 2946295, at *8 (11th Cir. July 14, 2021); DeBose v. USF Bd. of Trustees, 811 F. App’x 547, 556 (11th Cir. 2020); EMI Sun Vill., Inc. v. Catledge, 779 Fed.Appx. 627, 637 (11th Cir. 2019).

Southern District: RKR MOTORS, INC., Plaintiff, v. OLGA PEREZ et al., Defendants. Additional Party Names: CMD, LLC, McLaren Charlotte, No. 23-60819-CIV, 2025 WL 1296336, at *3 (S.D. Fla. Mar. 6, 2025); Newman v. Associated Press, 758 F. Supp. 3d 1357, 1373 (S.D. Fla. 2024); Block v. Matesic, 2023 WL 3816693, *7 (S.D. Fla. June 5, 2023); Sotloff v. Qatar Charity, 2023 WL 3721683, *21 (S.D. Fla. May 30, 2023).

Middle District: Rustik Haws, LLC v. Identiqa Sols. Co., No. 8:21-CV-00565-MSS-AEP, 2025 WL 470225, at *8 (M.D. Fla. Feb. 12, 2025); Wesley Fin. Group, LLC v. Westgate Resorts, Ltd., 746 F. Supp. 3d 1342, 1358 (M.D. Fla. 2024); De Ford v. Koutoulas, 2023 WL 2709816, * 12 (M.D. Fla. Mar. 30, 2023); Kaplan v. Regions Bank, 2023 WL 2610155, *7 (M.D. Fla. Mar. 23, 2023).

Northern District: Rashada v. Hathcock, No. 3:24-CV-219-MCR-HTC, 2025 WL 1043208, at *10 (N.D. Fla. Apr. 8, 2025); Whidden v. Roberts, No. 5:19-CV-80-MCR/MJF, 2020 WL 6566961, at *7 (N.D. Fla. July 28, 2020); Crom, LLC v. Preload, LLC, 380 F.Supp.3d 1190, 1207 (N.D. Fla. 2019). 

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2 Defenses to Claim for Civil Conspiracy

(1) Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.110(d) (pleading affirmative defenses), and other standard defenses. See § 1.

(2) Statute of Limitations: § 95.11(3)(p), Fla. Stat. (four years);  Young v. Ball, 835 So. 2d 385 (Fla. 2nd DCA 2003); King v. Bencie, No. 19-11503 , 2020 WL 1550916, at *1 (11th Cir. 2020).

(3) Under Florida law, actionable conspiracy requires an actionable underlying tort or wrong. A cause of action for civil conspiracy exists only if the basis for the conspiracy is an independent wrong or tort, which would constitute a cause of action if committed by an individual. See Stenzel v. Equifax Info. Servs., LLC, No.: 8:19-cv-1247-T-60SPF, 2020 WL 60156, at *5 (M.D. Fla. January 6, 2020); Liappas v. Augoustis, 47 So.2d 582, 582-83 (Fla. 1950); Banco de los Trabajadores v. Cortez Moreno, 237 So.3d 1127, 1136 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018) (holding that Florida does not recognize civil conspiracy as a freestanding tort); Integrated Health Services at Cent. Florida, Inc. v. Estate of DeSantis by & through DeSantis, 407 So. 3d 547, 552 (Fla. 2d DCA 2025).

(4) Combinations of employees or management in connection with labor disputes cannot form the basis for a conspiracy claim. Churruca v. Miami Jai-alai Inc., 353 So. 2d 547, 551 (Fla. 1977).

(5) Delayed discovery doctrine does not apply to claim for civil conspiracy. Young v. Ball, 835 So. 2d 385, 386 (Fla. 2nd DCA 2003)

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