‘The View’s Sunny Hostin Accuses Insurance Company of ‘Smear Campaign’ Against Her Husband Amid Lawsuit

Sunny Hostin jumped to her husband Emmanuel "Manny" Hostin's defense after he was named as a defendant in an insurance fraud lawsuit. In her statement, The View co-host slammed American Transit for its "frivolous civil lawsuit" and said that the company only took legal action as a "desperate attempt to avoid paying for medical and surgical procedures for people it insured who were in pain."

"This company has a history of filing frivolous claims, has been investigated by New York State and has been sued by Uber Technologies," Sunny continued in her statement, obtained by Page Six. "However, in an attempt to poison the well of public opinion because it does not have a valid case against my husband, American Transit instead used my celebrity status to start a disgusting media smear campaign against my husband, which included me and our children. They plastered pictures of our family all over tabloid publications."

She accused the insurance company of "harassing" her and her family — she and Manny share two adult children — and insisted that they "remain unbowed" amid the scrutiny. To conclude her statement, Sunny revealed how she and her husband plan to fight back against American Transit.

"We have put American Transit on notice and will file a five-million-dollar counter lawsuit for their defamatory claims, an amount that is likely to increase as the reputational damage that American Transit has intentionally caused is difficult to quantify at this time," she said. "Further, we demand that they withdraw these false allegations, pay my husband what he is owed, and issue a public apology."

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Manny, an orthopedic surgeon, was one of 180 defendants named in American Transit's suit, which was filed on December 17, 2024, in the New York Eastern District Court. Manny and his practice are accused of receiving "kickbacks by performing surgery and… billing a company that insured taxi companies and Uber and Lyft drivers."

In the lawsuit, obtained by the Daily Mail, American Transit claimed, "Hostin knowingly provided fraudulent medical and other healthcare services including arthroscopic surgeries. … [American Transit] was billed in exchange for kickbacks and/or other compensation which were disguised as dividends or other cash distributions."

At the time the filing was made public, Manny's lawyer called the lawsuit "meritless" and denied all allegations on behalf of his client. "[The lawsuit] is meant to intimidate and harass doctors from collecting for care given to American Transit insureds and their passengers," attorney Daniel Thwaites added. "The real story here is about an insurance carrier abusing the legal system to limit and restrict health care benefits to its insureds and their passengers and write off its proper obligations."

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