Shilo Sanders’ legal team files motions to restrict evidence at bankruptcy trial

What is this Shilo Sanders case about?

Sanders was 15 years old in 2015 when he was accused of assaulting and severely injuring Darjean, who said he tried to confiscate his phone at school. Darjean sued Sanders and his parents over it in 2016. But after Shilo’s parents were dropped from the case by early 2019, Darjean pressed his lawsuit against Shilo and won a $11.89 million default judgement against Shilo when Shilo didn’t show up for the trial in Texas in 2022.

Shilo, now 26, filed for bankruptcy when Darjean moved to collect on the debt, immediately stopping Darjean from doing so. But Darjean is fighting Shilo’s attempt to discharge the debt on the basis the debt stems from a “willful and malicious injury.” Under bankruptcy law, debt that stems to a “willful and malicious injury” is not dischargeable in bankruptcy court, meaning the debtor would stay on the hook for it.

The question to determine at trial is if it did in fact stem from a willful and malicious injury. Shilo has said it was self-defense and Darjean was the aggressor.

What are these pretrial motions about in the Shilo Sanders case?

By filing these new motions related to his disciplinary history, his attorney wants to limit the scope of evidence at trial to the incident in question and not get into any other unrelated issues that could unfairly influence the trial.

Separate court documents in Texas show that a day after that incident in 2015, Shilo Sanders was involved in a separate incident at school with another student and was taken that day to a juvenile detention center in Dallas. Darjean was taken to the hospital after the incident, Dallas police said.

One of the motions filed by Shilo’s attorney seeks to “limit the Temporal Scope of Inquiry at Trial.” Another concerns Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and other law enforcement agency records.

His attorney's arguments in these motions were filed under seal and labeled "confidential" because they relate to a protective order involving his old case in Dallas when Shilo was a minor.

What is Shilo Sanders’ occupation?

Shilo Sanders is the middle son of Deion Sanders and the third of his five children with two wives. Shilo's younger brother Shedeur is quarterback of the Cleveland Browns. Shilo finished his college football career at Colorado in 2024 and was waived by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before the 2025 season. He graduated from Colorado with a master’s degree in organizational leadership and since has pursued other interests such as fashion modeling and brand influencing.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shilo Sanders bankruptcy case: Lawyer seeks to block evidence before trial