The legal proceedings involving the family of adult film star Emily Willis have taken a significant step forward with a recent update provided over the weekend.
Emily Willis, whose real name is Litzy Lara Banuelos, was admitted in 2024 to Summit Malibu, a rehabilitation facility in California, for ketamine addiction. During her stay, she was discovered unconscious.
Though the staff managed to resuscitate her, Willis suffered ‘irreversible brain damage’ due to the extended period without oxygen, resulting in her being ‘permanently disabled’.
Her family, led by her mother, Yasenia Lara Cooper, has filed a lawsuit against the facility on her behalf. Currently, Willis remains semi-conscious and is under the care of her mother at home.
The lawsuit targets Summit Malibu along with its parent company, Malibu Lighthouse Treatment Centers, LLC. The accusations include ‘abuse of a dependent adult, professional negligence, negligence, and fraudulent business practices’, claims that the rehab center denies.
The proceedings are scheduled to continue on September 23 at the Los Angeles County Superior Court in Santa Monica.
An additional hearing is slated for February 17, 2026, identified as ‘Hearing on Demurrer – with Motion to Strike’. During this session, the judge will consider the defendant’s motion to dismiss the complaint, which Summit Malibu filed in late August.
The facility asserts that prior to being found unconscious, Willis was advised to seek hospital care, which she declined.
“It is undisputed that during her stay, (Willis) had refused to follow medical recommendations and take her medications,” the court documents state. “She refused to go to urgent care or the hospital voluntarily, despite being encouraged to do so by (Summit Malibu).”
Willis’ attorney, James A. Morris Jr, dismissed this defense as standard practice, maintaining that the legal case against the facility ‘has no weakness’.
He expressed to PornCrush the gravity of Willis’ condition, describing it as a ‘tragedy’.
“It’s a horrible existence,” Morris remarked. “Imagine being locked in your own body. You’re in a jail you can’t escape.”
While the healthcare facility claimed it could not forcibly transfer Willis to a hospital, Morris argued that earlier intervention was warranted. “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 contended.
He further stated, “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.”