The Malibu rehabilitation facility where Emily Willis suffered a heart attack that left her incapacitated denies the allegations of abuse and negligence outlined in a lawsuit by the adult star’s mother.
The lawyer representing Willis’ family isn’t surprised.
Or worried.
“Typical defense motion,” James A. Morris Jr. told PornCrush Tuesdayt. “Legally, (Willis’) case has no weakness.”
Morris’ comments were in response to a filing by Summit Malibu last week in Los Angeles Superior Court. The rehab center claims Willis’ mother has failed to provide more details than she did in a prior hearing to support her claim for elder/dependent abuse.
One of the most decorated stars in adult entertainment history, Willis was found unconscious in her room at Summit Malibu—where she was being treated for an eating disorder—on Feb. 4, 2024. It was later determined that she suffered a heart attack—perhaps a significant amount of time before she was discovered.
Willis was in a coma for more than a month and has never regained the ability to speak or communicate. Other than a few slight (and perhaps involuntary) movements, Willis is virtually paralyzed.
Morris labeled the situation “a tragedy.”
“It’s a horrible existence,” Morris said. “Imagine being locked in your own body. You’re in a jail you can’t escape.”
Willis’ mother filed a lawsuit against Summit Malibu in December, accusing the rehab center of Dependent Adult Abuse, Professional Negligence, Negligence, and Unlawful, Unfair or Fraudulent Business Practices.
Morris alleges Malibu Summit’s staff erred by not recognizing that the 5-foot-7 Willis required immediate hospitalization when she arrived at the facility in January of 2024, weighing just 100 pounds and seeking treatment for anorexia.
“She was in the danger zone the moment she walked through the doors,” Morris said. “She needed very, very intense medical treatment. They didn’t diagnose that upon entry, nor did they monitor carefully enough how quickly she was digressing.”
According to the lawsuit, Willis was disoriented, disheveled, and struggling to walk less just days after her arrival. In their notes, doctors used words such as “distressed,””nervous” and “anxious” to describe Willis’ mood. Willis was barely eating, they said, and was so dehydrated on Feb. 2 that nurses were unable to obtain her blood pressure.
Willis, though, declined the staff’s recommendation that she be transported to a hospital. She was defiant again the following afternoon when paramedics were summoned to take her vitals and assess her condition.
One day later, on Feb. 4, Willis was found unconscious in her room. According to the lawsuit, nurses and paramedics performed CPR for more than 30 minutes before finally detecting a pulse. Willis was then rushed to Los Robles Hospital in Thousand Oaks. She’s been incapacitated ever since.
“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,” Morris said. “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.”
In its most recent filing, however, Summit Malibu claims it didn’t have the authority to transport Willis to a hospital against her will. Rather than admit wrongdoing, the rehab center suggested that Willis’ refusal to accept help led to her unfortunate situation.
“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).”
In the filing, Summit Malibu’s attorneys contend that there is no evidence that Willis was left unattended for a significant period of time, or that she was not treated properly when she was discovered unconscious.
A hearing on Summit Malibu’s challenge to the elder/dependent abuse claim in Willis’ mother’s lawsuit is scheduled Feb. 17. Morris remains confident in his legal team’s strategy and isn’t concerned—not in the least—about the case being dismissed.
“Defendants always want to delay (things) and the California rules of civil procedure often accommodate that,” he said.
Willis, who is now 26, was one of the adult industry’s biggest stars from 2017-22. She won 13 AVN awards during the height of her popularity from 2020-22, including nine in 2021, when she was named Female Performer of the Year.
Despite her success, Willis often battled personal demons. She began experimenting with ketamine late in her career and became addicted to the drug after stepping away from porn in 2022.
According to the lawsuit, Willis had been ingesting five to six grams of ketamine per day for a year before she checked into Malibu Summit. As a result, she experienced bladder inflammation and night terrors and had suffered loss of bladder incontinence since 2022.
Morris, though, said Willis had stopped using ketamine shortly before entering Malibu Summit. Instead it was an eating disorder—“severe anorexia,” he said—that caused her to seek help.
“At that point she has resolved herself not to do ketamine again,” Morris said. “She had gotten off of it in the past and she was determined to do it again.
“The reason she was at Summit Malibu was because she wanted to be in a safe place and away from additional drug opportunities, because sometimes those things will present themselves if you’re not in a confined place where they’ll take good care of you and you’re not exposing yourself to what has contributed to your demise.”
According to the lawsuit, Willis tested negative for all drugs when she checked in and also multiple times during her stay.
Still, Willis was not in good health. She had barely been eating, was losing weight rapidly and had been struggling mentally.
“She needed treatment immediately,” Morris said. “They should’ve made the decision the minute she walked into their facility. They should’ve said, ‘This looks like a very serious medical condition you have. We need to get you over to the hospital.’ That’s what should’ve happened. Unfortunately it didn’t.”
