Everything we know about Emily Willis’ court case as vital lawsuit hearing countdown begins
The countdown is on for Emily Willis' family to take the former adult star's rehab center to court, in the latest legal update on the star.
Emily Willis - real name Litzy Lara Banuelos - rose to fame as an adult entertainer in 2017, but is now 'permanently disabled' following a heart attack while staying at a Californian rehab facility.
The 26-year-old's family have sued Summit Malibu Rehab's parent company, Malibu Lighthouse Treatment Centers, with the case heading for court in September.
The star, 25 years old at the time, was admitted to the facility for ketamine addiction in January 2024.
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While she is now able to make slight movements - mainly with her eyes - the star's life will never be the same again.
Here is everything we know about Emily Willis, her stay in rehab and her family's legal case.
Who is Emily Willis?
The adult star made her porn debut eight years ago, and by 2018 had her first two scenes released through GirlsDoPorn - a company later shut down for fraud and sex-trafficking violations.
Early in 2018 she moved to Las Vegas and then to Los Angeles, and in May 2019 was honored as Penthouse’s Pet of the Month.
But sometime in 2022, the star had retired from the adult world to pursue a career in mainstream acting.
Her brother, Michael, revealed in a March 2024 update on Willis' GoFundMe that she had 'aspirations of success in other fields of entertainment,' adding: "Those who worked with her in her new career path knew she had the potential to achieve her dreams."
On that note, you can donate to Willis' GoFundMe fundraiser here. At the time of writing, there has been $116,794 raised by almost 2,000 donors.
In 2022, Willis joined the cast of Eddie Alcazar’s thriller film Divinity, sharing the screen with Karrueche Tran, Bella Thorne and Moisés Arias.
And the following year, she starred in the music video for Slipknot’s Grammy-nominated single 'Hive Mind', marking her first foray into the music industry.
What happened to Emily Willis?
On January 27 2024, Willis sought help for her 'ketamine addiction' from drug rehabilitation center Summit Malibu in Los Angeles.
A lawsuit filed by her family against the rehab center explains how the former 'Female Performer of the Year' ingested some 'five to six grams' of the drug every day for a year.
After checking into the facility, her health is alleged to have rapidly deteriorated.
She was barely eating, showering or even getting dressed, the lawsuit details - adding that in one instance, a nurse was unable to take her blood pressure due to 'dehydration'.
On February 3, emergency services were called, but Willis was not taken to hospital. The following day, she was 'found unconscious', though it wasn't clear how long she was left unattended.
Nurses and paramedics performed CPR for 30 to 40 minutes until they restored her heartbeat, yet the lawsuit states the lengthly time she was left without oxygen caused 'irreversible brain damage'.
26 hours later, she suffered a heart attack, which further worsened her condition.
Willis fell into a 'vegetative coma' and didn't wake up for three months, until May.
What did Emily Willis' family accuse the rehab facility of?
The ex-adult film star’s family accused Summit Malibu and its parent company, Malibu Lighthouse Treatment Centers, LLC, of 'abuse of a dependent adult, professional negligence, negligence and fraudulent business practices' at the end of 2024.
Emily's mother Yesenia Lara Cooper claimed her daughter was still currently largely paralyzed after suffering ‘irreversible brain damage’ due to being without oxygen for a long time.
After months in the hospital, Willis is now at home in Utah under her mother’s care, though she still has to return 'from time to time' for treatments she can’t receive at home.
Despite being deemed 'permanently disabled,' her lawyer, James A. Morris from Morris Law Firm, notes she can 'move her body somewhat,' making noises and tracking with her eyes - though it’s unclear how much she understands. The family have engaged a physiatrist to travel to Utah and assess her level of awareness.
While specialists suspect Willis has locked-in syndrome, Morris confirmed back in February she was awaiting diagnosis. There has been no update on her condition since.
What happened at the last court hearing?
On June 18, the claim that had originally been filed with the Los Angeles Superior Court finally moved forward.
Malibu Lighthouse Treatment Centers challenged the lawsuit, prompting Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Mark A. Young to require Cooper to flesh out her elder/dependent-abuse allegations against Summit Malibu.
“Plaintiffs must allege additional facts to establish that defendants’ care rose to the level of recklessness,” Young wrote.
In his tentative ruling, he added that the complaint didn’t 'establish any specific facts showing Defendants' responsibility for meeting the basic needs of Banuelos', and that it included details that 'simply do not show her dependency or a custodial relationship' with the facility.
As a result, Willis’s family was given 30 days to amend their complaint - supplying the missing information about how Willis qualified as a dependent and exactly what duties Summit had agreed to take on - so the case could proceed.
Had they failed to do so, the lawsuit risked dismissal; since they met the deadline, however, the case remains open and a hearing has been set.
When is the hearing for Emily Willis' case?
A hearing date has finally been set for 23 September 2025 in Department M at the Los Angeles County Superior Court, located at 1725 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401, as per docket entries submitted to legal tech platform UniCourt.
Topics: Emily Willis, Adult Industry, Celebrity, Health, Drugs
Ellie Kemp