The Prisha Mosley lawsuit is a North Carolina medical malpractice and fraud case filed in July 2023 against eight healthcare providers who treated Mosley as a teenager for gender dysphoria. A Gaston County judge dismissed the entire case in August 2025, and Mosley’s appeal is now pending before the North Carolina Court of Appeals, with her opening brief filed in April 2026 and no oral argument date yet set.
Who Mosley Is and What Happened to Her
Mosley experienced depression, anxiety, anorexia, and self-harm as a young teenager, and was sexually assaulted at age 14.1NC Family Policy Council. Detransitioner in NC Sues Doctors Who Made Her a Lifelong Patient She was also diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.2New York Post. Why Teen Girl Who Became a Trans Man Is Now a Woman Again
At 16, she was started on Depo-Provera to stop her menstrual cycles and, within months, on testosterone injections.3North State Journal. Challenging NC’s Statute of Limitations: A Detransitioner’s Story She has said she received a letter of recommendation for hormones after a single appointment with a WPATH-certified therapist.4Maine State Legislature. Testimony on LD 1735 Shortly after turning 18, she underwent a double mastectomy, and she continued hormone therapy for roughly seven to eight years before stopping. She has said she suffers from phantom breast syndrome as a lasting effect of the surgery. As of 2023, she was 25 and living in Michigan.2New York Post. Why Teen Girl Who Became a Trans Man Is Now a Woman Again
What the Lawsuit Claims
Mosley filed suit on July 17, 2023, in Gaston County Superior Court (case number 23-CVS-2375). The eight defendants are Dr. Eric Emerson and Piedmont Plastic Surgery and Dermatology, alleged to have performed the mastectomy; counselors Brie Klein-Fowler and Shana Gordon and their practices, Family Solutions and Tree of Life Counseling; and Dr. Martha Fairbanks Perry and Moses Cone Memorial Hospital, doing business as Cone Health, alleged to have prescribed hormones.5Watauga Democrat. Appellate Court Decision Awaited by Mosley, the Nation
The complaint raises claims of medical malpractice, fraud, and conspiracy to commit fraud.6NC Values Coalition. Prisha Mosley Has Filed an Appeal On malpractice, Mosley alleges her providers did not follow the standard of care, were not properly qualified, and failed to spend adequate time on diagnosis before starting treatment.1NC Family Policy Council. Detransitioner in NC Sues Doctors Who Made Her a Lifelong Patient The fraud claims allege that providers misrepresented the nature and effects of transition treatments, withheld information about side effects, and told her that transitioning would resolve her mental health problems. The complaint further alleges that providers told Mosley her parents could not legally prevent her from receiving transition treatment, that some procedures were performed without parental knowledge, and that doctors pressured her parents by asking, “Would you rather have a dead daughter or a living son?”3North State Journal. Challenging NC’s Statute of Limitations: A Detransitioner’s Story
Named defendants either declined to comment or did not respond to press inquiries at the time of filing.7Catholic World Report. North Carolina Woman Files Lawsuit in Wake of Gender Transition Surgery as a Teen Mosley is represented by Campbell Miller Payne, a firm that describes itself as the first law practice dedicated to representing detransitioners and has filed roughly a dozen similar cases nationwide.8World Magazine. Defense for Detransitioners
How the Trial Court Ruled
The case ran into a procedural wall early. In May 2024, a judge dismissed Mosley’s malpractice claims as time-barred under North Carolina’s roughly three-to-four-year statute of limitations for malpractice actions.6NC Values Coalition. Prisha Mosley Has Filed an Appeal Her fraud and conspiracy claims survived that round and were cleared to proceed.9Carolina Journal. Detransitioner’s Fraud Claim Dismissed, Malpractice Claim Still Blocked
The picture shifted in mid-2025. The North Carolina General Assembly passed House Bill 805, which included a provision extending the statute of limitations for malpractice claims arising from gender transition procedures from three to ten years. The law was explicitly retroactive and stated that it revived time-barred causes of action “whether or not such cause of action has been asserted in a pending civil action or appeal.”10North Carolina General Assembly. House Bill 805 Governor Josh Stein vetoed the bill, and the legislature overrode the veto on July 29, 2025.11NC Family Policy Council. HB 805 Allows North Carolina Detransitioner to Revive Her Lawsuit
Mosley’s team moved to reinstate the malpractice claims on August 15, 2025. On August 28, 2025, Judge Robert C. Ervin denied the motion, declining to apply the extended statute of limitations to her case and ruling that the malpractice claim was not revivable.6NC Values Coalition. Prisha Mosley Has Filed an Appeal In the same ruling, he granted summary judgment to all defendants on the fraud and conspiracy claims, dismissing the entire case with prejudice. He concluded that “there are no genuine issues of material fact in this case and that all of the defendants are entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”9Carolina Journal. Detransitioner’s Fraud Claim Dismissed, Malpractice Claim Still Blocked
What the Appeal Argues
Mosley’s lawyers filed a notice of appeal on September 10, 2025.6NC Values Coalition. Prisha Mosley Has Filed an Appeal The case, Mosley v. Emerson (No. COA26-132), is before the North Carolina Court of Appeals, and Mosley’s opening brief was filed on April 13, 2026.12Carolina Journal. NC Court of Appeals to Hear NC Detransitioner Case
The appeal raises two issues. First, Mosley argues the trial court erred by refusing to apply HB 805’s retroactive extension to revive her malpractice claims, pointing to statutory text that expressly applies to causes of action accruing “before, on, or after” the effective date.10North Carolina General Assembly. House Bill 805 Second, she is challenging the summary judgment on the fraud claims and seeking to have all dismissed claims reinstated for trial.13Do No Harm. Do No Harm Submits Amicus Brief in Support of Detransitioner’s Lawsuit
Three organizations have filed amicus briefs supporting Mosley. The America First Legal Foundation filed on April 20, 2026, arguing that WPATH guidelines are ideological rather than scientific and that defendants did not satisfy even those guidelines.14America First Legal Foundation. Amicus Brief, Mosley v. Emerson Do No Harm filed on April 22, 2026, citing the Cass Review and arguing the evidence base for medical transition in minors is insufficient.13Do No Harm. Do No Harm Submits Amicus Brief in Support of Detransitioner’s Lawsuit The NC Values Coalition also filed a brief that was accepted by the clerk’s office.12Carolina Journal. NC Court of Appeals to Hear NC Detransitioner Case No oral argument date or ruling has been announced.
Where the Case Fits in Detransitioner Litigation
Mosley’s suit is one of a growing group. An analysis of 16 detransitioner cases published in September 2025 found that roughly 81 percent were still pending and that no court had ordered compensatory damages in any of them at that time.15National Library of Medicine. Physician Exposure to Litigation in Gender Detransition Medical Malpractice Cases
That changed in January 2026, when a Westchester County, New York, jury awarded $2 million to Fox Varian, a 22-year-old detransitioner who had undergone a double mastectomy at 16. The verdict, split between $1.6 million for pain and suffering and $400,000 for future medical expenses, was the first American jury award in a malpractice case involving gender-affirming care for a minor.16New York Times. Gender Surgery Malpractice Varian After the verdict, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons issued a position statement opposing gender-affirming surgeries for patients under 19.17National Review. Medical Malpractice Comes Home to Roost in Detransitioner Verdict
Campbell Miller Payne is handling other cases along the same lines, including a suit filed in October 2023 on behalf of Isabelle Ayala against providers at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Rhode Island and the American Academy of Pediatrics, and an April 2024 case for Cristina Hineman against a Planned Parenthood nurse practitioner and a plastic surgeon in New York.18Alliance Defending Freedom. Preventable Tragedies: Why De-Transitioners Are Suing Doctors Attorney Josh Payne has said the statute of limitations is the primary legal obstacle in these cases because patients often do not recognize the harm until years later.8World Magazine. Defense for Detransitioners That is the question the North Carolina Court of Appeals will now answer for Mosley.