Emmanuel, Sunny Hostin’s Husband, Involved in Lawsuit: What We Know So Far
Sure! Here’s the rewritten content while preserving the HTML tags:
Sunny Hostin’s spouse, Emmanuel “Manny” Hostin, attracted attention after being named in an insurance fraud lawsuit.
As per legal documents obtained by Us Weekly on January 7, 2025, Emmanuel is one of nearly 200 defendants in a lawsuit filed in the New York Eastern District Court.
The orthopedic surgeon, operating out of New York, faces accusations of federal insurance fraud and “accepting kickbacks through performing surgeries and billing a company that insured taxi operators and Uber and Lyft drivers,” as reported by the Daily Mail.
Emmanuel’s legal representative has denied all allegations against him.
Additionally, Sunny has stood by her husband, asserting that the plaintiff, American Transit, an insurance provider primarily associated with ride-share drivers, has “a track record of filing frivolous claims.”
Continue reading for a summary of the ongoing case:
Who Is Dr. Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Hostin?
Emmanuel is an orthopedic surgeon based in New York City with close to 29 years of expertise. He graduated from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1996 and founded Hostin Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine in Manhattan in 2006.
He has been married to Sunny since 1998, and the couple has a son, Gabriel, who studies at Harvard University, and a daughter, Paloma, attending Cornell University.
What Is Dr. Emmanuel Hostin Being Accused of?
According to the lawsuit analyzed by Us, Emmanuel is allegedly accused of “knowingly” providing “fraudulent medical services, including arthroscopic surgeries to Covered Persons through Hostin Orthopaedics.” He is also claimed to have fraudulently billed American Transit.
It is alleged that Emmanuel engaged in this fraud “in exchange for kickbacks and/or other compensation disguised as dividends or other cash distributions.” He maintains his innocence.
What Has Dr. Emmanuel Hostin Said About the Lawsuit?
Emmanuel responded to the allegations through his lawyer, Daniel John Thwaites, who informed the Daily Mail that his client “denies each and every allegation.”
Thwaites noted that the lawsuit is a “blanket, scattershot, meritless lawsuit from a nearly-bankrupt insurance carrier.”
“It aims to intimidate and harass doctors from collecting payments for care given to American Transit insureds and their passengers,” Thwaites continued. “American Transit rushed into this lawsuit without conducting an examination of Dr. Hostin or sharing any concerns with his lawyers. The true story here is about an insurance carrier misusing the legal system to limit healthcare benefits for its insureds and their passengers, while neglecting its rightful obligations.”
What Has Sunny Hostin Said About the Lawsuit?
In a statement to Entertainment Weekly, Sunny criticized the “frivolous civil lawsuit” aimed at her husband and around 200 other physicians.
“In an effort to tarnish my husband’s reputation due to their lack of a valid case, American Transit leveraged my celebrity status to initiate a disgraceful media smear campaign, affecting me and our children,” she stated. “They have displayed images of our family across tabloid publications.
American Transit is harassing my family in a desperate attempt to evade its responsibilities. We will not be intimidated or harassed. We remain steadfast.”
Sunny revealed that she has retained Mark Geragos as her attorney and will file a $5 million counter lawsuit against American Transit for its defamatory claims, an amount that could increase as the reputational damage caused is challenging to quantify at this stage.
“We also demand they retract these false allegations, compensate my husband, and issue a public apology,” Sunny added. “Insurance companies like American Transit complicate an already broken healthcare system and harass doctors, making it nearly impossible for Americans to receive quality healthcare. Let me be clear, American Transit will earn a PHD from FAFO University.”
What Was The Result of The Lawsuit?
The American Transit Insurance Company withdrew its lawsuit against Emmanuel in July 2025.
In a statement to EW, AITC announced, “We have voluntarily withdrawn the suit against Dr. Hostin, dismissing it with prejudice.”
“Moreover, ATIC sincerely regrets any public speculation about Dr. Emmanuel Hostin, his wife Sunny Hostin, or their children that may have stemmed from this lawsuit,” the statement concluded.
