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Topics: Emily Willis, Court, News, Celebrity, Adult Industry, Health
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Emily Willis, Court, News, Celebrity, Adult Industry, Health
The lawsuit filed by the family of adult star Emily Willis appears to be moving forward as a new update has been issued over the weekend.
The adult star was admitted to a rehab facility called Summit Malibu in 2024 for ketamine addiction, but while she was at the California-based facility, Willis was found unconscious.
While she was resuscitated by staff, Willis was left with 'irreversible brain damage' and 'permanently disabled' because of the length of time she went without oxygen.
Willis' family are now suing the facility on her behalf. Willis, whose real name is Litzy Lara Banuelos, is now semi-conscious and is reportedly being cared for by her mother at home.
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It's Willis' mother, Yasenia Lara Cooper, who has filed the suit on her daughter's behalf.
They are suing Summit Malibu and its parent company Malibu Lighthouse Treatment Centers, LLC, and have accused the healthcare providers of 'abuse of a dependent adult, professional negligence, negligence and fraudulent business practices' — all of which the rehab center denies.
The next step in the case is set to take place on September 23 at the Los Angeles County Superior Court in Santa Monica.
A newly announced second hearing has now been penciled in for February 17, 2026. This is listed as 'Hearing on Demurrer - with Motion to Strike' where the judge will review the defendant's request to have the complaint against them thrown out after Summit Malibu filed to have the case dismissed in late August.
The facility claims that staff advised that Willis go to hospital before she was found unconscious, but she refused.
"It is undisputed that during her stay, (Willis) had refused to follow medical recommendations and take her medications,” the court papers read. "She refused to go to urgent care or the hospital voluntarily, despite being encouraged to do so by (Summit Malibu)."
Willis' lawyer, James A. Morris Jr, reacted to this at the time and branded it as a 'typical defense motion', adding that Willis' case from a legal perspective 'has no weakness'.
Speaking about the condition Willis has been left in, Morris said to PornCrush that it was a 'tragedy'.
"It’s a horrible existence,” Morris shared. "Imagine being locked in your own body. You’re in a jail you can’t escape."
While the healthcare facility said it could not transfer Willis to hospital against her will, Morris argued that 'they should’ve transferred her to a hospital earlier and let the doctors put a feeding tube in her and treat her properly while she was still (coherent) and speaking and walking'.
He went on: "Instead, they allowed her to have a say in her medical treatment, which is not what you do with somebody who is in severe health danger. She was in a very brittle place."