Featured Image Credit: Instagram/EmilyWillisx3
Topics: Adult Industry, Celebrity, Court, Emily Willis, US News
Ellie Kemp
Topics: Adult Industry, Celebrity, Court, Emily Willis, US News
There’s been an update in the case of Emily Willis, whose family has filed a lawsuit against a Californian rehab center following a medical emergency that left her permanently disabled.
Willis - real name Litzy Lara Banuelos - was one of the most recognizable faces in the porn industry, having starred in some 700 videos.
But by 2023, she had retired and was instead pursuing a career as a mainstream actress.
Last February, however, she suffered a heart attack at Summit Malibu rehab center, where she was being treated for a ketamine addiction.
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According to a lawsuit filed by her mom, the former adult industry star fell into a vegetative coma for two months, suffering irreversible brain damage while rendered her 'permanently disabled'.
Her family alleges the center failed to intervene in time as her health deteriorated over the course of several days.
Willis had been consuming five to six grams of ketamine a day, the lawsuit claims, before being admitted to the rehab center.
The complaint claims, in the days leading up to Willis' cardiac arrest, staff ignored worsening symptoms including chills, tremors, disorientation, and severe pain.
Emergency services were called on February 3, but Willis wasn’t taken to hospital. A little more than a day later, she was found unconscious.
Paramedics performed CPR for 30 to 40 minutes before reviving her, the lawsuit claims. And while she emerged from the coma two months later, she now remains largely paralyzed.
In February, attorney James A. Morris confirmed Willis has been able to move her body slightly.
Medical experts previously speculated she may have locked-in syndrome, but Morris said that she was yet to be formally diagnosed.
Willis' family is suing Summit Malibu and its parent company, Malibu Lighthouse Treatment Centers, LLC, for 'abuse of a dependent adult, professional negligence, negligence and fraudulent business practices'.
Now, a court hearing has been set for next month which could determine the course of the case.
On June 18, the court will address a Demurrer and Motion to Strike - which sees the defendants, Malibu Lighthouse Treatment Centers, challenge the legal complaint.
The Demurrer, as explained by the California Courts Self-Help Guide, is a 'procedural objection' examining whether the complaint, even if factually accurate, lacks the legal basis to proceed.
Filed under California Code of Civil Procedure § 430.10, the defense claims that the lawsuit does not meet all the legal elements required to support the claims, such as negligence or wrongful conduct.
In theory, it means the family's lawsuit could be completely thrown out.
Accompanying the demurrer is a Motion to Strike, which seeks to eliminate parts of the complaint, which could deemed 'irrelevant, vague, or legally improper'.
Simultaneously, the court will hold a Case Management Conference (CMC)- an early-stage procedural meeting where, according to Thomson Reuters Practical Law, the judge will evaluate the core issues, manage scheduling, and determine whether any aspects of the case can be streamlined or resolved before trial.
If the court overrules the demurrer, the CMC will serve to establish a discovery timeline, deadlines for pretrial motions, and potentially refer the parties to mediation.
The outcome of the June hearing will determine whether the case moves forward toward trial, putting the spotlight on the standards of care in California’s rehabilitation industry.
UNILAD previously contacted Malibu Lighthouse Treatment Centers for comment.