Shilo Sanders will have to wait even longer to learn whether he can legally wipe away an $11.89 million judgment tied to a 2015 high school altercation. A federal bankruptcy judge in Denver has pushed back the deadline for written closing arguments from both sides, all but guaranteeing that a final ruling won't come until January 2027 or later.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael E. Romero extended the deadline for closing briefs from November 16 to December 21, according to Complex, which reported that attorneys for creditor John Darjean requested the additional time. The delay comes on top of another bottleneck: transcripts from Sanders' five-day bench trial in Denver, which wrapped on September 4, still aren't ready. Attorney Ori Raphael said the transcripts are delayed, pushing back a process that was originally expected to produce them roughly three weeks after the trial ended, per the same outlet.
Romero has said he wants both sides to spell out what matters most in the written exhibits already admitted into evidence before he rules, the outlet reported, citing remarks the judge made in August. At the center of the case is 26-year-old Sanders' effort to use Chapter 7 bankruptcy to discharge the $11.89 million default judgment hanging over him since 2022.
A 2015 Cellphone Dispute That Became a Multimillion-Dollar Case
The case traces back to September 2015, when 15-year-old Sanders got into a confrontation with John Darjean, then a security guard at Focus Academies in Dallas, after Darjean tried to confiscate his cellphone. The clash has its roots in a decade-old dispute, as detailed by a USA Today video report on the case.
Darjean alleged that Sanders attacked him during the confrontation and has said he suffered permanent injuries as a result, according to his own allegations in the case. He was transported to the hospital by ambulance after the altercation. Sanders, for his part, has testified that Darjean choke-slammed him and caused him to black out, disputing Darjean's characterization of the injury and maintaining that he acted in self-defense.
Darjean sued the Sanders family in 2016. A Texas state court dismissed both Deion Sanders and Pilar Sanders as co-defendants in 2019, according to Essentially Sports, leaving Shilo Sanders as the sole defendant facing the eventual civil liability. Before the case went to trial in March 2022, his original defense attorneys withdrew after court records indicated he was unable or unwilling to fund his legal defense. Sanders did not appear for that trial, and the court entered an uncontested $11.89 million default judgment against him. He has contended in bankruptcy filings that he was unaware the 2022 trial date had proceeded without legal representation, per the same outlet's reporting.
The Legal Standard That Could Decide Everything
Sanders filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in October 2023 in an attempt to extinguish the judgment, but federal bankruptcy law explicitly bars the discharge of debts resulting from what's known as “willful and malicious injury.” Darjean's attorneys argue Sanders caused exactly that kind of harm. Under Section 523(a)(6) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, Judge Romero must issue a bench ruling on Sanders' intent rather than revisit the financial liability itself, NBC Sports reported. If the court finds Sanders acted in self-defense, the judgment debt can be discharged.
Ahead of trial, Romero might allow expert testimony on reasonable force to evaluate Sanders' self-defense claims, while excluding most records from the Letot juvenile facility except those containing party admissions, according to Complex's earlier reporting on the pretrial rulings. Sanders was detained at the Letot juvenile center in Texas following the 2015 altercation. Unsealed court records also showed defense attorney Victor Vital planned to argue that the 15-year-old Sanders resisted surrendering his phone because he believed his mother, Pilar Sanders, was his “only lifeline” following his parents' 2013 divorce, per the Times of India.
Press Intervention Forced the Trial Into Public View
The trial almost unfolded behind closed doors. USA Today filed a motion to intervene in July 2026 seeking to unseal transcripts and keep the proceedings open under First Amendment protections, successfully opposing efforts to close the September trial to the public. Romero unsealed redacted records the following month.
The bankruptcy case also reached onto the University of Colorado campus during fall football camp. A Boulder County Sheriff's deputy attempted to personally serve Colorado head coach Deion Sanders at an open team practice at Fountain-Fort Carson Stadium in Fountain, Colorado, on August 11, according to the Associated Press, leading his legal counsel to accept service off-campus. Darjean's attorneys had subpoenaed Deion Sanders regarding phone conversations that occurred on the day of the 2015 altercation. Hoodline previously reported Deion Sanders was served while also facing a separate lawsuit over branding and logos.
During Day 4 of the bench trial, Darjean himself testified for more than two hours before collapsing in the courtroom in pain, requiring transport to a local hospital by ambulance. He was treated and released later that day but did not return to the stand.
What's Next for Sanders
Not all of Sanders' legal troubles are escalating. National law firm Barnes & Thornburg permanently dismissed its lawsuit against him in October over roughly $170,000 in unpaid legal fees, filing the dismissal with prejudice on October 5 and barring the firm from re-filing claims tied to his bankruptcy and civil representation.
Still unresolved is the core question of whether Sanders will be relieved of the $11.89 million debt or remain personally liable for it indefinitely. With transcripts delayed and closing briefs now due December 21, Judge Romero's final ruling on Sanders' intent in the 2015 altercation is expected to stretch into January 2027 or later.
