Court drama ends in mistrial for Sheridan...but story continues

Piya Sinha-Roy

A JUDGE has declared a mistrial in actress Nicollette Sheridan's wrongful termination lawsuit against the producers of TV show Desperate Housewives after jurors said they were "hopelessly deadlocked".

The jury panel, which consisted of nine women and three men, said they could not get beyond an eight to four vote in favour of Sheridan and, as a result, were unable to render a verdict that would have required nine of them to agree on an outcome. Attorneys for both sides told reporters outside the courtroom they were prepared to try the case again.

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"You'd think we'd be disappointed, but we're not," said Sheridan's attorney Mark Baute. "We got the story out. We told the truth. Twelve of our fellow citizens made a judgment. We came up one short. We'll do the dance again."

Adam Levin, attorney for Touchstone Television Productions which produces the hit show for the ABC network, said: "We're anxious to move forward with that trial, and we're confident that we will prevail." The mistrial brings an end to the current chapter of the drama-filled case

Sheridan (48), who played Edie Britt on the show from 2004 to 2009, accused its creator Marc Cherry of smacking her on the head during a 2008 rehearsal, and contended she was fired and her character killed off after she complained. Cherry has said he only tapped Sheridan and the death of her character was planned before.

hnews@herald.ie