Former Colorado football player Shilo Sanders has one less legal headache on his hands after a lawsuit against him in Dallas was dropped by the law firm that sued him for $170,000 in unpaid bills.
The law firm of Barnes & Thornburg LLP filed a "notice of nonsuit with prejudice” in the case on Monday, Oct. 5. This often means the case has reached a confidential settlement between the parties to resolve the case.
“Plaintiff files this Notice of Nonsuit dismissing with prejudice all claims asserted in the above-captioned lawsuit against Defendant Shilo Sanders, thereby disposing of all claims against the only defendant in this action,” said the notice filed by the law firm.
An attorney for the firm didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.
This resolution comes after Sanders, son of Colorado coach Deion Sanders, was served court papers in the case when he appeared in court in Denver for his bankruptcy trial there Aug. 31. Before that, the law firm accused him of avoiding service of the lawsuit in Florida, where he lives. The firm said a process server showed up at his residence several times, including one time when “there was no answer, no noise” even though packages of a food order sat on a porch for Shilo Sanders, according to court records filed in Texas.
Shilo Sanders still has bankruptcy case pending with $12 million in debt
In a separate case, Shilo Sanders, 26, still is trying to get out of $12 million in debt in bankruptcy court. He attended his bankruptcy trial in Denver Aug. 31 through Sept. 4, but the judge in the case is not expected to issue a verdict until after final written arguments are submitted in November.
The case over $170,000 in unpaid bills related to work the firm said it did for him on his bankruptcy case and a separate personal injury case in Dallas that led him to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in October 2023. Shilo Sanders owes almost all of his debt to John Darjean, a former security guard at his school in Dallas. Darjean filed a personal injury lawsuit against Sanders in 2016, accusing him of permanently injuring him at his school in Dallas in 2015 when Darjean tried to confiscate Sanders' phone.
When the case finally went to trial in 2022, Sanders didn’t show up for it and Darjean won a $12 million default judgment against him. Now Sanders is trying to get out of that debt in bankruptcy court in order to get a “fresh start.” It’s up to the judge if he does.
In the meantime, the dismissal of this lesser case in Dallas comes after the same law firm initially filed the lawsuit in federal court last year, then removed it this year to file it in state court in Dallas in May. This time it won’t be refiled because the dismissal is being made “with prejudice,” meaning the dismissal would be permanent.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Deion Sanders' son Shilo facing one less legal headache after law firm drops suit
