A four-day jury trial has been scheduled following a violent altercation at an exclusive Denver country club that left a well-known property developer with a severely broken collarbone.
The Incident at Lakewood Country Club
The fight erupted on June 3, 2024, during a corporate networking event hosted by RK Industries at the prestigious Lakewood Country Club. The venue boasts an 18-hole golf course and a 25-metre Olympic-sized swimming pool. Among the guests involved were developer Bradley Eide and broker Nick Steitz, a former NFL offensive lineman.
According to legal documents, the confrontation began after Eide reportedly cautioned an RK executive against hiring Steitz for a business development role. In a deposition obtained by BusinessDen, Eide stated, "He's a liability. I would never hire that guy... I didn't think he was a good fit."
Eide alleged that Steitz had been drinking heavily and acting inappropriately earlier that evening, including making unwanted physical contact. "It was uncomfortable," Eide said. "Somebody that's not totally familiar with me was, I think, behaving with a locker-room mentality."
A Tackle Through the Food Table
The situation escalated moments later. Eide claimed in his deposition that Steitz crouched into a tackling stance and lunged at him. "He went to grab my legs, and I grabbed over the top of him as he grabbed my legs. And then as I grabbed ahold of him, he - like an offensive lineman - pushed my legs up into the air. And then we fell backwards through the food table that was behind us," Eide recounted.
The impact was severe, shattering Eide's collarbone in multiple places and necessitating surgery. That same night, Steitz reportedly sent a text message to Eide stating, "I'm really sorry about what happened. You wouldn't stop choking me and I got really freaked out. I couldn't breathe."
Legal Proceedings and Disputed Accounts
In January 2025, Eide filed a lawsuit against Steitz, his then-employer JLL, and the Lakewood Country Club. By December, Steitz and the country club had reached confidential settlements, leaving the global real estate firm JLL as the sole remaining defendant. JLL has denied liability, arguing that Steitz was acting independently.
Steitz, who now works at Trevey Commercial Real Estate, disputes Eide's version of events. His attorney, Kevin Ripplinger, said in an email, "Supported by witnesses to the incident, Mr. Steitz continues to dispute Mr. Eide's version of the event."
The trial, set for May of this year, is expected to attract significant attention, not only for the unusual circumstances but also due to Eide's claim that the country club has a reputation for "heavy pours" and "wild parties." "I've heard from members that it's a bit of a party country club," Eide noted in his deposition.
Nick Steitz played three seasons in the NFL and one in the Arena Football League after a college career at the University of Oregon. He later worked at CBRE before becoming a vice president at JLL in 2016. Bradley Eide is a developer with Denver-based Elevate Cos., known for acquiring land for apartment projects in the RiNo and Lincoln Park neighbourhoods.
