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Lopez family seeks damages

Lawyer: Claim to Eduardo Capote’s insurance could bring $300K for son

Zach Fridell
Richard Lopez’s ex-wife, Shannon Boahn, said this photo of Lopez and his son, Nicholas, was taken the day before Lopez was knocked unconscious after a downtown Steamboat Springs fight. Lopez later died of his injuries, and his family is now seeking civil damages from Eduardo Capote, the man accused of punching Lopez.
Courtesy Photo





Richard Lopez’s ex-wife, Shannon Boahn, said this photo of Lopez and his son, Nicholas, was taken the day before Lopez was knocked unconscious after a downtown Steamboat Springs fight. Lopez later died of his injuries, and his family is now seeking civil damages from Eduardo Capote, the man accused of punching Lopez.

— The son of Richard Lopez is seeking civil damages from Eduardo Capote as Capote’s criminal case could reach a conclusion this week. Capote was charged with assault in connection with the 2009 fight in downtown Steamboat Springs that led to Lopez’s death.

A jury found Capote not guilty of assault on Lopez’s friends, but jurors deadlocked on the most serious charge of second-degree assault. The jury also found David Capote, Eduardo’s brother, not guilty of assault.

Eduardo Capote is scheduled to appear in court at 2 p.m. Friday to plead guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter in a deal to avoid another trial.



Lopez’s son, Nicholas, was with his father in Steamboat on vacation in early 2009 but was staying at a friend’s house on Jan. 1, the night of the fight.

Shannon Boahn, Lopez’s ex-wife, said she and Lopez had joint custody of Nicholas, who was 16 at the time of the incident. She hired Golden-based attorney Zach McFarland, who said he hopes to resolve the case before it goes to trial by first making demands of Eduardo Capote’s insurance company. McFarland said he’s been researching Eduardo Capote’s homeowner’s insurance and thinks it has $300,000 of coverage that could be used to pay for economic and noneconomic damages.



“That would be the maximum, unless Mr. Capote contributed to it personally,” McFarland said.

Boahn, who was married to Lopez for eight years until their divorce in 1999, said she has been the intermediary in the case because Nicholas won’t be 18 for several months.

“Our son is now about to graduate high school and is so saddened that his father is not on this earth to experience that accomplishment nor any other accomplishment or event that will happen throughout his life,” she wrote in an e-mail.

Steamboat-based lawyer Charles Feldmann, whose firm defended both Capote brothers in the criminal trial, said he would represent Eduardo Capote in the civil matter.

No documents have been filed in court in the civil matter.

— To reach Zach Fridell, call 871-4208 or e-mail zfridell@steamboatpilot.com


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