LAWSUIT. In this July 27, 2011 file photo, actress Nicollette Sheridan poses for a portrait at during The Television Critics Association 2011 Summer Press Tour in Beverly Hills, Calif. A judge on Monday limited the damages that Sheridan can seek in a wrongful termination lawsuit over her firing from ABC's "Desperate Housewives," after five seasons. Sheridan will be starring in the upcoming television movie "Honeymoon for One" on the Hallmark Channel. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg, file)
LOS ANGELES— A judge has limited the damages actress Nicollette Sheridan may receive if she wins a wrongful termination lawsuit filed over her ouster from “Desperate Housewives.”
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Allen White ruled Monday that Sheridan can seek damages for only one year’s pay on the show, not for the entire length of the series. The show is entering its eighth and final season.
Sheridan sued the show’s network, ABC, and “Housewives” creator and executive producer Marc Cherry in April 2010, claiming he struck her during a fight in September 2008.
If Sheridan wins, she may be entitled to punitive damages. But her actual damages would be limited to the roughly $980,000 she would have earned during Season 6.