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The Four Seasons in Las Colinas is being sued for allegedly serving a deadly amount of alcohol at a family party.
An autopsy found that 29-year-old Autumn Rupkey had a blood alcohol level that was more than five times the legal limit after she died.
Rupkey's parents said they are suing the Four Seasons because they want to make sure what happened to their daughter doesn't happen to anyone else.
”Autumn probably epitomized what it means to have a servant's heart,” Autumn’s father, Kevin Rupkey, said.
The night of August 18, 2018, was supposed to be a celebration of Kevin’s 60th birthday at the Four Seasons in Las Colinas.
Instead, it ended with the death of his daughter, Autumn.
“I, as a father, will never walk her down the aisle,” Kevin Rupkey said. “[In] fact, I will never hold a grandchild she may have had.”
At 7:30 p.m. on the night of the party, Autumn gave a toast to her father.
She appeared sober as she recounted a memory with her father when she was 10.
“I rode it, and I was like, I hate this, and you gave me $5,” Autumn Rupkey said during her toast.
Photos taken in the three hours that followed show her appearing more and more intoxicated.
The Irving police report shows that Autumn never left the Four Seasons during the party.
Sometime shortly after 10:30 p.m., her brother escorted her to a hotel room after she fell.
She was found unresponsive the next morning, and according to the autopsy, died from “acute ethanol toxicity” -- or alcohol poisoning.
Quentin Brogdon, a former prosecutor, is representing the Rupkeys in their lawsuit that claims the Four Seasons over-served autumn.
”Police turned up no source of any alcohol other than Four Seasons,” Brogdon said.
The police report states, "it is unknown if guests had brought personal alcohol to the event that may have been consumed by Autumn, or if Autumn was consuming other's drinks."
Hotel staff members told police they stopped serving her once she showed signs of being intoxicated.
Police concluded that Autumn's death was accidental, and did not ask the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to investigate any potential violations.
“We want answers,” Kevin Rupkey added.
The Four Seasons released the following statement:
In the lawsuit, Brogdon contends that Four Seasons did not properly monitor and limit the amount of alcohol served to Autumn on that night.
“It was okay what we served until they fell down. That's not the rule, shouldn't be the rule, that cannot be the rule,” Brogdon said. “If we have our way, a jury will say loud and clear that is not the rule in the state of Texas.”
A spokesman for TABC said that they rely on police and the public to notify them of potential issues.
He also said this lawsuit could prompt them to investigate.