Mercedes-Benz asks – Mercedes-Benz asked a federal bankruptcy court on June 2, 2026, to lift the automatic stay and allow it to repossess Shilo Sanders’ $135,000 Mercedes after saying he fell $9,170 behind on monthly payments and the vehicle is losing value.
On June 2, 2026, Mercedes-Benz returned to federal bankruptcy court with a familiar fight and a sharper deadline: it asked the judge to let it repossess Shilo Sanders’ $135,000 car again.
The company says Sanders is $9. 170 behind on monthly payments and that the vehicle’s value has been dropping while the bankruptcy “stay” keeps it from being taken. In the filing, Mercedes-Benz set the default at $9,169.56, covering amounts past due from February through May of 2026. The company also told the court the car’s outstanding balance is $72,155 and its estimated value is $75,900.
Mercedes-Benz argued that the situation is sliding in its favor financially—and that the court’s automatic stay is blocking action. The attorney’s filing said. “The motor vehicle is depreciating in value. the contract is in default and the movant (Mercedes-Benz) is being prevented by the automatic stay from exercising its remedies to repossess and liquidate its collateral. the motor vehicle.”.
This new request lands inside Sanders’ Chapter 7 bankruptcy case. filed in October 2023. in which he reported more than $11 million in debt. The largest share of that debt traces back to a long-running legal dispute involving John Darjean. a former security guard at Sanders’ school in Dallas. Darjean sued Sanders in 2016 over an alleged assault in 2015. After Sanders did not appear for trial, a default judgment of $11.89 million was entered against him in 2022.
Mercedes-Benz is also not stepping into the car issue from scratch. The company made a similar repossession claim in April 2025, and that dispute was resolved through payment without the vehicle being taken.
The June 2 filing is different because it asks for the automatic stay to be lifted. If the bankruptcy court grants the request, Mercedes-Benz would be able to move forward with repossession and sale rather than waiting for a payment fix.
Sanders’ football career has moved on since the bankruptcy began. He finished his college football career as a graduate student in 2024 and was waived by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year after going undrafted by NFL teams in April 2025.
For Sanders, the pressure point is the same vehicle that’s now at the center of a second court fight. If the stay is lifted, Mercedes-Benz can pursue the car rather than waiting out the bankruptcy process and another round of negotiations over what must be cured and how quickly.
Mercedes-Benz Shilo Sanders bankruptcy Chapter 7 repossession automatic stay Tampa Bay Buccaneers Chapter 7 filing June 2 2026