The federal judge in Shilo Sanders’ bankruptcy case has ordered redacted copies of recent court records that were previously sealed to be made public. Following a number of recent private developments in the case, Judge Michael E. Romero granted USA Today’s request to intervene in the case and increase public transparency.
Additionally, Romero upheld USA Today’s objection to “any proposed closure” of Shilo Sanders’ upcoming bankruptcy trial on August 31. He did note, however, that the court has the authority to decide on an as-needed basis whether to seal any information pertaining to Sanders’ juvenile history.
According to USA Today’s filing, Shilo Sanders’ attorney, Victor Vital, had asked the court to “seal the complete trial transcript and any exhibits submitted as evidence at trial.”
“There is absolutely no basis to seal, prospectively, any trial transcript or any evidence in this run of the mill bankruptcy case, nor is there any basis to treat Defendant (Shilo Sanders) as somehow special because of his notoriety,” attorneys for USA Today wrote, adding that such a ruling would violate “the First Amendment’s right of public access.”
The bankruptcy ruling will determine a $11.89 million judgment against Shilo Sanders is erased
Shilo Sanders, 26, was 15-years-old when he assaulted John Darjean while he was working as a security guard at Sanders’ school in Dallas, leaving him with permanent injuries.
Darjean sued Shilo Sanders in 2016, and when the case went to trial in 2022, Sanders didn’t show up in court despite claiming he acted in self-defense. Therefore, Darjean won the lawsuit by default judgment and Shilo Sanders has owed him $11.89 million ever since.
In an effort to try to get out of paying Darjean, Sanders filed for bankruptcy in October 2023. Darjean, in return, filed a complaint against Sanders to prevent the bankruptcy court from relieving him of that debt, claiming that Sanders is using several limited liability corporations to improperly conceal assets from his numerous name, image and likeness (NIL) deals (many of which Sanders boldly flaunted on social media).
In a September 2024 court ruling, the judge wrote, “Darjean sufficiently identified assets that were at one time owned by the Sanders but are no longer available to pay creditors because they are not listed in the schedules. As to those specific omitted assets, the Court finds Darjean has sufficiently stated a claim under (the law).”
The judge also agreed with Darjean’s claim that Shilo Sanders deleted records and social media posts fully describing his financial situation.
“In this case, Sanders’s business and income is derived from his NIL rights,” the judge wrote. “If Sanders does monetize his NIL rights through social media posts, as alleged by Darjean, those posts could be construed as business records. Thus, Darjean’s allegations about deletion of social media posts may support his… claim.”