The courtroom battle over Shilo Sanders' attempt to erase an $11.89 million judgment just took another step forward.
According to USA Today, a federal bankruptcy judge has issued a series of key pretrial rulings that will determine what evidence makes it in front of the court when Sanders' case goes to trial on August 31. The decisions don't resolve the dispute, but they do shape the legal fight over whether the former Colorado safety can wipe out the massive debt through bankruptcy.
Judge Michael Romero's rulings followed a private hearing in Denver involving evidence tied to a 2015 incident in which Sanders was 15 years old. While the judge granted some of Sanders' requests to exclude certain evidence, he rejected others, leaving the door open for additional testimony and records to be introduced at trial.
Among the biggest rulings, Romero said the court could allow expert testimony challenging Sanders' claim that he acted in self-defense. The order states that experts may testify "on the issue of whether reasonable force was used in rebuttal to (Sanders') self-defense arguments."
Romero also partially sided with Sanders on records from the Letot juvenile detention facility in Texas. Most of those records will remain outside the case, although documents containing "party admissions" could still be admitted into evidence.
Sanders didn't score victories across the board, however. The judge declined—for now—to block evidence related to Sanders' disciplinary history, certain state agency records, and the timeframe the parties can explore during trial. Those rulings were made "without prejudice," meaning Romero can revisit them as the case unfolds. "The Court will address specific objections... at trial," the judge wrote.
The upcoming trial is the centerpiece of Sanders' long-running bankruptcy case. He filed for Chapter 7 protection in 2023 after a Texas court entered an $11.89 million default judgment against him. The judgment stems from a lawsuit filed by former Dallas school security guard John Darjean, who alleged Sanders seriously injured him during a 2015 confrontation over a cellphone.
Sanders has consistently maintained he acted in self-defense. But because he failed to appear for the 2022 civil trial, Darjean secured a default judgment. Now, the bankruptcy court will decide whether that debt resulted from a "willful and malicious" injury, which would make it ineligible for discharge.
The evidentiary fight is just one piece of Sanders' growing list of legal issues. He's also defending a bankruptcy trustee's lawsuit over disputed NIL-related funds and facing a refiled $170,000 lawsuit from former law firm Barnes & Thornburg over allegedly unpaid legal bills. Mercedes-Benz also recently withdrew an effort to repossess his vehicle over alleged missed payments.
