Shilo Sanders' bankruptcy case: How alleged actions in youth led to $11 million debt

Shilo Sanders and his attorneys have been fighting two different battles in court in recent months, both with high stakes for the University of Colorado football star:

∎ In Colorado bankruptcy court, they are trying to free him from the $11 million in debt he owes for allegedly assaulting and injuring a man when he was 15 years old in Dallas in 2015.

∎ In Texas state court, they also are seeking to have many old documents related to his youth shielded from public view despite the fact those records might be relevant to his public bankruptcy case now as an adult at age 24.

“There is no basis or justification under Texas state law or under the Bankruptcy Code or Bankruptcy Rules to unseal such materials relating to when Sanders was a minor simply due (to) Sanders reaching the age of majority,” Sanders' attorneys wrote in a court filing in June.

His attorneys even have called for a hearing in Dallas next week to argue why the court should seal hundreds of pages of court records there that relate to his days as a minor.

In the bigger picture, it highlights the strange circumstances at play with how Sanders, son of Colorado coach Deion Sanders, has fallen into bankruptcy as a young adult because of what he allegedly did as a ninth-grader at a high school in Dallas. Legal experts describe it as an oddity in a justice system that generally aims not to let the mistakes of youth ruin somebody’s life.

But in this case, the law allowed a then-40-year-old man to sue a then-16-year-old boy (Sanders) in civil court in 2016 because of what Sanders allegedly did to the man a year earlier, when Sanders was 15.

The law also allowed the same civil court to hold Sanders responsible for what he allegedly did at age 15 − issuing an $11.89 million default judgment against him that led him into bankruptcy last year at age 23.

Here’s why and what sets the case apart.

Why did case reach this point if Shilo Sanders was a minor?

The case stems from an incident in September 2015, when Shilo Sanders allegedly assaulted and caused permanent injuries to a security guard, John Darjean, who was trying to confiscate his phone at school. Darjean sued Sanders and his parents in 2016, seeking damages for his injuries. But Sanders’ parents eventually were dismissed from the case. Shilo was not. By the time he entered his college freshman year at South Carolina in 2019, he was the sole remaining defendant in the case at age 19.

Then when the case finally went to trial in Dallas in 2022, Shilo didn’t show up to defend himself in court after discarding his attorneys on the case in 2020.

As a result, the court entered a default judgment against him of $11.89 million – a debt that Darjean is still trying to collect from him.

In Darjean’s view, Shilo simply owes him for what he did to him under laws designed to address civil wrongs – or torts − in civil court. It’s quite unlike criminal court, where children generally are afforded more privacy and leniency than adults.

“Minors are liable in tort just as adults are,” said Meredith Duncan, a law professor at the University of Houston. “Such is true in most states. The plaintiff in this case (Darjean) is suing Shilo for committing a tort (a civil wrong) and seeking to hold him civilly liable (for monetary damages). Unlike the criminal court system, on the civil side being a minor at the time of the commission of a tort does not shield one from liability. Usually, the practical difficulty in suing a minor in tort is that most minors have no money.”

The default judgment led Shilo Sanders to file for bankruptcy last October. His goal in bankruptcy court is to get that debt discharged so he can “get a fresh start, free from the oppressive burden of his debts,” according to his attorneys.

Sanders has alleged Darjean was the aggressor, not him, though it may be too late to litigate that after missing the trial about it.

How money sets this case apart

Deion Sanders previously has portrayed this case as a money grab by Darjean. However, Darjean disputes any notion that he is pursuing Shilo Sanders simply because of the wealth of Deion Sanders, a Pro Football Hall of Famer. Darjean noted how multiple probes evaluated evidence in the case and ended up favoring him, including by police, workers’ compensation authorities and the civil court in Dallas.

Court records filed by Darjean's attorneys also noted Shilo Sanders was admitted to a Dallas County Juvenile Department center a day later after another incident at school.

“I would go after anyone that assaulted me,” Darjean told USA TODAY Sports in a recent interview. “I don’t care who it was.”

It just might have been harder for him to find attorneys to fight for his rights in this case if Shilo Sanders didn’t come from a family with wealth. Darjean said his attorneys are working the case on a contingency basis − which generally means they get paid part of any settlement or recovery of the debt.

Those attorneys are fighting Shilo’s efforts to discharge his debt in bankruptcy court because they want to collect on it. If it’s not discharged by the bankruptcy court, they could continue to pursue debt collection efforts against him in the future, including any future earnings from the NFL.

This is one way the case is rare. It’s often not worth it to pursue a civil case against minors, because they often don’t have the means to pay any judgment that could result from it.

“This case is unique in many respects, including that the family of the defendant has significantly more resources than the average person,” said Jonathan Todres, a law professor at Georgia State and expert on children’s rights.

In the meantime, Darjean has said he won’t stop fighting until he gets what he’s owed. His attorneys also have suggested in court filings that Shilo is concealing assets to avoid having them sold to pay off his debt – allegations Shilo’s attorneys denied. Attorneys in the case have declined comment or not responded to requests for comment.

What has happened to Shilo Sanders so far?

Shilo Sanders is a graduate student at Colorado and was the leading tackler on the team in 2023. But he is entering his final college season in Boulder with legal and financial problems uncommon for college football players.

In March, he underwent a property inspection to account for his assets, according to court records filed in the case. He provided the bankruptcy trustee overseeing the case with bank statements, information on his business operations and documents related to his vehicles.

“The Trustee is continuing to review documents to determine if any additional documents are needed for the Trustee’s administration of the estate,” his counsel stated in a court filing June 27.

His non-exempt assets could be sold to pay back creditors at least some of what he owes them, but his biggest creditor – Darjean – has suspected he is hiding assets and wants to prevent the court judgment from being discharged on the basis that it came from a “willful and malicious” injury.

To represent his interests, Shilo Sanders has attorneys working for him in Colorado, Washington D.C. and Texas, where they are asking the court to seal records related to his youth.

Why was Shilo Sanders not shielded from a lawsuit as a minor?

It stems from the differences in civil courts and the criminal justice system, where children are treated differently as juveniles.

“The idea behind it was that children are different from adults, and they deserve the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and be supported in their development, rather than be penalized indefinitely for missteps,” said Todres of Georgia State.

By contrast, in civil court, a child’s freedom is not at stake like it can be in the criminal justice system. Instead, it’s essentially about determining liability to recover monetary damages. In Darjean’s view, the age of his alleged attacker shouldn’t matter if he suffered severe injuries and proved who was responsible for them in court.

He sought to recover for those injuries, and the court found that Shilo Sanders “did in fact cause physical harm and injuries to John Darjean by assaulting him,” according to the “findings of fact” signed by the judge in 2022.

The court’s judgment against Sanders included $3 million for Darjean’s future physical impairment and $2 million for future medical care. Shilo Sanders' attorneys said in court records that he doesn’t have the money to pay the judgment and should be allowed a discharge. Soon it will be up to the court to decide if he should stay on the hook for it.

In general, the larger civil legal system beyond this case has a “tough balancing act to do,” Todres said. “We want to ensure injured individuals receive compensation, when entitled, so they can recover fully, but we don’t want to unduly penalize a child and saddle them with a lifetime of debt because of a decision made as a kid. Part of the challenge is that our legal system’s primary remedy for injuries is monetary compensation.”

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: [email protected]

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