Image Credit: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage

The battery charge in Nicollette Sheridan’s trial against Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry has been dropped, per judge Elizabeth Allen White. With that part of the case removed, Cherry is no longer a defendant. The case still includes a wrongful termination claim against former employers ABC and ABC Studios.

Sheridan claimed in her original $6 million suit that Cherry had struck her on the set of Desperate Housewives on Sept. 24, 2008.

In dismissing the charge, the judge made the point that Sheridan’s claims did not meet the standard of proof for battery. The only question that remains in the case now is if Sheridan was, indeed, retaliated against by ABC when her character, Edie Britt, was killed off the show and she was let go. With the battery charge dropped, the jury will still be asked to decide on the wrongful-termination claim.

Cherry appeared outside the courtroom after the charge was dismissed and spoke to the press for the first time. “Obviously I’m thrilled by the judge’s decision,” he said. “But I’m going to withhold further comment until this matter is resolved completely.”

Tanner on Twitter: @EWTanStransky

Read more:
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‘Desperate Housewives’ major character death revealed: Read an EXCLUSIVE interview with the star!
‘Desperate Housewives’ trial: Creator says Nicollette Sheridan let go because of ‘unprofessional behavior’
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Image Credit: Ron Tom/ABC

Nicollette Sheridan’s wrongful termination and battery case against Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry, ABC, and ABC Studios has continued this entire week in downtown Los Angeles. A variety of witnesses have been called — including Cherry, ABC executives Mark Pedowitz and Steve McPherson, Desperate star James Denton, and producers George Perkins and Sabrina Wind — who have all contributed heartily to the deluge of information out there about the case. We’ve updated you earlier in the week, but to help you sort it all out, EW has distilled the essential information from the last few days of testimony:

+ CASE CLOSED…SOON: Judge Elizabeth Allen White told the jury today that she expects the case to wrap — closing arguments and all — by Tuesday, March 13. That means that it’s highly unlikely that many on the potential witness list — including high profile names like Sheridan’s former co-stars Marcia Cross, Felicity Huffman, and Eva Longoria — will be called to testify. White said that it was “not appropriate” for the stars to appear — the defense had hoped to use them to show how Cherry interacted with them over physical direction. (However, the defense could still call them under other auspices.)

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Image Credit: Toby Canham/Getty Images

Both Nicollette Sheridan and Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry have finished their juicy testimony in the actress’ wrongful termination suit that’s playing out in downtown Los Angeles, so other players are now taking the stage. Today, Sheridan’s entertainment lawyer Neil Meyer took the stand and told the court that the former Desperate Housewives actress was afraid she’d lose her job after an encounter where Cherry allegedly struck her on the head, on set. Sheridan is seeking $6 million in damages for her eventual termination, which she says happened in retaliation for complaining about the incident with Cherry.

While on the stand today, Sheridan’s lawyer Meyer characterized Cherry as a “vindictive man.” (That remark was eventually struck from the record, at the request of Cherry’s lawyer.) He also explained that Sheridan has been willing to move on from the situation. “We weren’t looking to ABC/Disney to do anything,” Meyer said during questioning, “because Nicollette was concerned about retaliation. Marc Cherry had apologized, and she was prepared to put her head down and go back to work. Nicollette was upset, but she was also worried about her job.”

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Image Credit: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage

This morning at Nicollette Sheridan’s ongoing wrongful termination trial in downtown Los Angeles, Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry took the stand and told the court that he let the actress go because of her “unprofessional behavior.” Added Cherry: “It wasn’t the primary reason for my decision. But it was something I was aware of.”

Cherry, however, also said that all reasons for her firing were secondary to “creative desires” to boost the show’s storylines in following seasons. Sheridan claims that she was fired from the once-hot series in retaliation to her complaints about an encounter she had with Cherry that got physical. READ FULL STORY »