Nicollette Sheridan suing Marc Cherry

[DaytimeFan]

Likely because she needed to gather evidence, write out her claim properly, hire the right lawyers. It doesn't happen overnight.

[dragonflies]

Earlier this year, TV star Nicollette Sheridan sued her former 'Desperate Housewives' employers--including the show's creator Marc Cherry, Touchstone Television Productions, ABC Studios and ABC Entertainment--for $20 million in relation to her firing.

RadarOnline.com reports that on Friday, new papers were filed, dropping some of the more shocking accusations from the original lawsuit. The actress previously claimed assault and battery, emotional distress, gender violence and wrongful termination.

In the new papers, Sheridan removed the claims of physical injury and emotional distress--and as a result, she will not have to submit to a physical and psychiatric evaluation.

She previously stated that she suffered--and continued to suffer--physical injury and emotional distress and in response, the defense demanded a physical and psychiatric evaluation.

http://www.popeater.com/

[alphanguy74]

Well, I guess you guys heard the news today that the judge has declared a MISTRIAL, and everything is going to have to start over. Marc Cherry must be shitting bricks.

By Harriet Ryan and Victoria Kim, Los Angeles Times

March 20, 2012

Four years after a sweeps week audience watched Edie Britt, the bed-hopping real estate agent in "Desperate Housewives," draw her last breath, a Los Angeles jury said Monday that it could not decide the cause of her death.

A judge declared a mistrial in Nicollette Sheridan's wrongful-termination suit after jurors said they were deadlocked as to whether the actress' character was killed off the ABC show in an act of retaliation or for creative reasons.

Eight jurors — one short of the nine required for a verdict in civil court — sided with Sheridan, who alleged that she was written off the show because she complained that the program's creator, Marc Cherry, had struck her in the head during a 2008 rehearsal. The other four voted with Touchstone Television Productions, whose lawyers said Cherry never hit Sheridan and had plotted Edie's death months before the actress made the allegation.

The jury had deliberated for four days and on three of those days, sent notes to L.A. County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth White, saying they were unable to reach a verdict. In a note Friday, the foreman said the split hadn't changed since an initial vote the first day of deliberations.

During the two-week trial, numerous witnesses from the show recalled the 2008 incident that ended with Sheridan yelling, "You hit me! You can't hit me!" and storming from the set. The actress testified Cherry had given her a "wallop" to the temple after she repeatedly questioned a line of dialogue. Cherry and others present said he had only tapped her to demonstrate a playful smack he wanted her to give her on-screen husband at the close of a scene.

Two jurors who voted for Sheridan said the case came down to witness credibility. Juror Beverly Crosby said she found Sheridan believable while the accounts of defense witnesses "didn't hold water for me." Speaking to a throng of reporters on the courthouse steps, she dismissed defense suggestions that the actress' story was suspect because she had variously characterized the blow as a slap and a hit.

"The evidence showed she was struck, so we didn't get bogged down with the terminology," Crosby said. "I looked at the fact that she was touched without permission."

Sheridan's lawyers had argued that producers, executives and writers at ABC and the studio had coordinated their testimony to help Cherry, but juror Johnny Hyunh hesitated when asked if the witnesses seemed rehearsed.

"I wouldn't say scripted. It's more like the story didn't match," Hyunh said.

No jurors who cast their votes for Cherry attended the news conference.

The trial offered jurors a behind-the-scenes look at the soap, which is to end this spring after eight seasons. The picture painted was often unflattering. Jurors heard that tabloid leaks from the set were a constant problem. There were salary disputes and tiffs over forgotten lines. Sheridan said Cherry condescended to her, and he said she was rude, tardy and unprepared for rehearsals. He recounted the frustration of co-star Teri Hatcher when Sheridan missed her lines and said two other stars, Felicity Huffman and Eva Longoria, were "relieved" when they learned she was leaving the show.

Much of the testimony focused on the timing of Cherry's decision to kill off Edie. Ten witnesses said he made it months before the on-set incident, but two writers for the show said her fate was not sealed until afterward.

Lawyers for both sides said they expected to retry a case that involves millions of dollars. Sheridan, who earned $4 million a year playing Edie, is seeking at least $5.7 million for economic losses and potentially much more in punitive damages.

[DaytimeFan]

One short of what she needed....but certainly victorious in comparison to the Cherry/ABC side.

I have felt Nicollette was in the right from day one and the testimony from the ABC executives only confirmed my instincts. Things were coordinated and they were coordinated poorly because ultimately the truth is obvious and the truth is that ABC colluded to fire her for rocking the boat with the claim that Cherry hit her. A claim that, while not satisfying the court's definition of assault, has been admitted by Cherry and ABC.

Ms Sheridan is a confident and credible witness and ABC should do what is in their best interest and settle this case and settle it for what Ms Sheridan is asking for which should be in the $10 million range.

Had she had one more viewer on her side, she would have seen a punitive damage windfall that could have gotten her $20 million. ABC should just bite the bullet on this one because they're in the wrong annd 8/12 of their peers saw it.

[alphanguy74]

ABC needs to sit down and hammer out a deal, NOW. I agree with you, daytimefan... they lucked out this time, and this is a HUGE warning shot across their bough.

[dragonflies]

Meh I feel like Nicollette story changed too much, and she acts like her character was the only one ever killed off on DH.

MC doesn't have the right to strike her, but this whole things seems blown out of proportion, would she have even filed suit if her character hadn't been killed off? Nope very doubtful

[alexisfan07]

She really was the only major character they killed though and some people think they only killed

to say "Hey look, we killed someone bigger than you!"

[DaytimeFan]

But don't you understand that her lawsuit is for wrongful dismissal? That she's suing precisely because she was fired?

Her suit isn't even about the assault, what Marc Cherry admitted to, while inappropriate, doesn't satisfy the legal definition of assault and/or battery. Wrongful dismissal? 8/12 jurors felt she was wrongfully dismissed. She only needed one more and she can keep on trying this case until she gets her 9th juror.

I have found her story very consistent and the variety of her witnesses (DH writers, low level people at ABC who accidentally received an email informing them that their computers were going to be wiped of all email, television executives and Sheridan herself) instead of the circle jerk of ABC executives who are all biased as hell.

[Chris B]

It's a shame what happened to Nicollette, but in interviews I always was under the impression Marc Cherry didn't like her. He made it clear in interviews she WASN'T the 5th housewife, something it seems ABC pushed. Every now and then she'd get her chance to shine, but he kept her in her place for the most part, only giving her bigger stories following her success after Marcia Cross went on maternity leave.

The worst part of this is that Nicollette will probably get blacklisted, which is a shame because I truly felt she was the most entertaining actress on Desperate Housewives. When the writing went to shyt, it was her keepin me tuned in. I think they were stupid not to look at her chemsitry with Neal McDonough and tried to find a way to make it work. I thought he breathed new life into the show and had they pulled back again they could've had a great villain. Unfortunately, they love those season long arcs which did him in.

I think Nicollette's best hope is that Dallas is a huge, huge hit and they decide to pursue a Knots Landing reboot. She'd be the obvious choice for that and it could help put her back on the map.

[DaytimeFan]

Nicollette will absolutely be blacklisted by anyone in the ABC/Disney sphere, plus the ripple effect. That said, there are going to be studios and producers out there who hate Marc Cherry, hate ABC and might delight in hiring her to put the screws to a competitor because Nicollette does have her defenders, Jackie Collins has been very vocal about how much she enjoyed working with Nicollette on her NBC mini series. Really, I think Nicollette would be great on one of those NBC sitcoms like The Office or Parks and Recreation, she was the best thing about DH and I have to think others in the business noticed it.

The good news for her is that she WILL defeat ABC the next round. She WILL collect millions and that will help feather an already secure nest. Nicollette has her Knots Landing residuals to keep her warm at night in addition to her Desperate Housewives residuals.