Mistrial Declared In Nicollette Sheridan's 'Desperate Housewives' Lawsuit

by UInterviewMarch 20, 2012, 12:00 amNews >

Former Desperate Housewives actress Nicollette Sheridan's wrongful termination lawsuit against the show's creator, Marc Cherry, has been declared a mistrial by an L.A. County Superior Court Judge, who dismissed the lawsuit after the jury insisted that they were "hopelessly deadlocked."

Four years ago, Sheridan's character, Edie Britt, was killed off of Desperate Housewives, and Sheridan claimed that the script choice was an act of retaliation for a confrontation in which Cherry allegedly struck her, reports the Chicago Tribune. Sheridan had initially leveled a battery lawsuit against Cherry in addition to the wrongful termination accusations, but the battery charge was previously thrown out.

Cherry and ABC maintained that the decision to get rid of Sheridan's Edie was made long before any confrontation she had with Cherry, and therefore had nothing to do with personal feelings the two might have.

The 12-person jury was stuck in an eight to four split, in favor of Sheridan. While the decision in a civil case in California is not required to be unanimous, the split can be no larger than nine to three, according to the Los Angeles ABC affiliate. The jury members deliberated extensively for several days, and at the end of each day approached the judge with the news that there had been "no change of opinion since day one."

In light of the mistrial, lawyers for both Sheridan and Cherry say they expect to retry the case. Sheridan is seeking at least $5.7 million for economic losses, and an unspecified amount in punitive damages, reports the Tribune.