'Desperate Housewives' Lawsuit Declared Mistrial
A mistrial was declared Monday in actress Nicollette Sheridan's wrongful termination lawsuit against the producers of "Desperate Housewives."
The jury of nine women and three men were deadlocked in an 8-4 vote. Nine jurors were needed to reach a verdict.
Sheridan, 48, claimed producers decided to kill off her character after she complained that creator Marc Cherry had hit her on the head during a rehearsal in September 2008.
Cherry denied the smack explaining to jurors during the trial that it was merely a tap on the head to demonstrate a scene to Sheridan and called her "desperate."
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Allen White dismissed the battery claim Sheridan made against Cherry, which left jurors to decide whether the actress had been fired under inappropriate circumstances. Touchstone Television attorneys claimed that there were plans to kill her character months before the incident.
The jurors began deliberating Wednesday afternoon but asked for a clarification of the definition of "complaint" on Thursday.
At the end of Thursday, the jurors were unable to reach a verdict.
By Friday they were still unable to come to consensus. Jurors deliberated for two more hours Monday, but still remain deadlocked.
Although the actress was paid $4 million in her last year of work, Sheridan is asking for $5.7 million in damages from ABC and Cherry. She is still earning royalties from the ABC show.
