Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Atlas Turner, Inc. v. Donna B. Welch, Individually and as Personal Representative of the Estate of Melvin G. Welch, Deceased, et al.
Paid petition · Supreme Court of South Carolina, No. 2023-001096 · judgment May 21, 2025
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Question presented
The U.S. Constitution imposes due-process limits on the jurisdiction of state and federal courts. Those limits differ depending on the type of jurisdiction the court seeks to exercise—either “in personam” jurisdiction over persons, or “in rem” jurisdiction over property. In the decision below, the South Carolina Supreme Court held that, where a trial court has specific personal jurisdiction over a defendant, it also has in rem jurisdiction over the defendant’s property, even if that property is located beyond the territorial boundaries of South Carolina—conflating “in personam” and “in rem” jurisdiction and deepening a lower-court split. The question presented is whether the Due Process Clause permits a court with specific personal jurisdiction over a defendant to exercise in rem jurisdiction over the defendant’s out-of-territory property.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Christopher E. Mills
Spero Law LLC
For respondent
Bryan Michael Killian
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences
Amicus briefs
3 cert-stage
Proceedings
- Jan 12 2026Petition DENIED. Justice Alito took no part in the consideration or decision of this petition.
- Dec 23 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/9/2026.
- Dec 19 2025Reply of petitioner Atlas Turner, Inc. filed. (Distributed)
- Dec 08 2025Brief of respondent Donna B. Welch in opposition filed.
- Dec 08 2025Brief of respondent Peter D. Protopapas, in his capacity as Receiver for Atlas Turner, Inc., in opposition filed.
- Oct 16 2025Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including December 8, 2025, for all respondents.
- Oct 15 2025Motion to extend the time to file a response from November 7, 2025 to December 8, 2025, submitted to The Clerk.
- Oct 08 2025Response Requested. (Due November 7, 2025)
- Oct 01 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/17/2025.
- Sep 22 2025Waiver of right of respondent Peter D. Protopapas, in his capacity as Receiver for Atlas Turner, Inc. to respond filed.
- Sep 22 2025Brief amicus curiae of National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA filed.
- Sep 22 2025Brief amici curiae of Chamber of Commerce of the United States, et al. filed.
- Sep 22 2025Brief amici curiae of American Tort Reform Association, et al. filed.
- Sep 08 2025Waiver of right of respondent Donna B. Welch to respond filed.
- Aug 18 2025Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due September 22, 2025)