'Desperate Housewives' Stars Potential Witnesses in Former Castmate's Lawsuit

Several Desperate Housewives stars are listed as potential witnesses in a lawsuit brought by former castmate Nicollette Sheridan, who alleges the show's creator hit her on the head on the set and fired her when she complained.

Sheridan, 48, filed her suit in April 2010 against Marc Cherry, ABC and Touchstone Television Productions.

Both sides have submitted tentative witness lists, which are subject to revision, to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Allen White. Along with Sheridan and Cherry, other names mentioned as witnesses include Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman and Eva Longoria.

In their court papers, defense attorneys say "characters die on television series all the time" and that "death is as much a part of scripted television as it is a part of life. Of course, whenever a character dies, an actor loses a job. That is what happened here."

Cherry decided to eliminate Sheridan's character in May 2008, according to the defense court papers.

Sheridan's assertion that her complaint that Cherry hit her in the head with an open hand in September 2008 led to her firing is undercut by the evidence of the earlier decision to eliminate her character from the show, according to defense lawyers.

A final status conference is scheduled tomorrow and trial is set for Feb. 21.

Read the following Patch interviews with Desperate Houswives costars: