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Which situation illustrates the English common-law tort of conspiracy to injure by unlawful means?

Question and options

Which situation illustrates the English common-law tort of conspiracy to injure by unlawful means?

  1. Two people agree to use unlawful means against a rival, but abandon the plan before acting.

  2. Two traders pursue their legitimate trade interests by lawful competition.

  3. Two people combine and use unlawful means to injure a rival, causing it loss.

  4. One person alone uses unlawful means intending to injure a rival, causing it loss.

Answer and explanation

Correct answer: C - Two people combine and use unlawful means to injure a rival, causing it loss.

Unlawful-means conspiracy requires a combination of two or more persons, the use of unlawful means in carrying out their agreement, an intention to injure the claimant and loss actually caused. A plan abandoned before any act causes no loss, so the tort, which is actionable only on proof of damage, is not complete. A single actor cannot conspire, however unlawful the means, and two traders pursuing their own trade by lawful competition commit no tort.

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