Politics & Government
Judge Dismisses Nicollette Sheridan's Battery Allegation Against 'Desperate Housewives' Creator
The decision capps a wild morning in the trial of the actresses' lawsuit, which was filed in April 2010.
A judge today dismissed Nicollette Sheridan's battery allegation against "Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry, whom the actress claimed smacked her in the head during a September 2008 rehearsal.
The decision by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Allen White leaves only a wrongful-termination allegation against Touchstone Television Productions remaining in Sheridan's lawsuit. She contends she was ultimately fired -- and her character Edie Britt killed off -- during the hit ABC show's fifth season for complaining about the smack by Cherry.
Cherry contended he only tapped Sheridan on the head to instruct her about a scene. He also claims he decided in May 2008 to eliminate Sheridan's character, and that their dispute four months later had nothing to do with her losing her job.
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White's decision capped a wild morning in the trial of Sheridan's lawsuit, which was filed in April 2010.
Earlier today, a construction supervisor on the set of "Desperate Housewives" testified he received an email nearly two years ago indicating that ABC executives wanted to delete all emails that discussed plans for killing off Sheridan's character.
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Despite objections from Cherry's attorney, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elizabeth White allowed Michael R. Reinhart to take the stand. He testified that he quickly deleted the email, and believed he had received the missive by mistake.
Reinhart said he couldn't remember the exact language of the message, but recalled that it was sent shortly after Sheridan filed her lawsuit, and it included words such as "delete," "Nicollette Sheridan," "producers" and "delete."
He also said he didn't know who else had received the email, and he conceded that he may have "misunderstood" its content.
White ordered that Reinhart's computer be provided to Cherry's attorneys for a forensic analysis -- but such work can be time-consuming at a point when the trial of Sheridan's suit is about to move to closing arguments.
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