X17 News

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Nicollette Sheridan and Michael Bolton have split, her rep confirms to X17online.

Sheridan's publicist, Nicole Perna released the following statement: "Nicollette Sheridan and Michael Bolton have amicably ended their engagement. They appreciate your respect for their privacy in this matter."

The two started dating in 1992, but ended their relationship 5 years later. Bolton, 55, and Sheridan, 44, started dating again in 2005, and by March of 2006 the couple announced their engagement.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Nicollette Sheridan is saying goodbye to Wisteria Lane.

Extra! confirms the actress is leaving "Desperate Housewives" after five seasons on the show.

"Nicollette had a great time on the show is looking forward to her next project," her spokesperson said.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) -- Former Desperate Housewives star Nicollette Sheridan will only get one season's lost wages for the show, a judge ruled Monday.

The judge in Sheridan's lawsuit against ABC and executive producer Marc Cherry ruled that if Sheridan wins an upcoming jury trial, she will get only season six's lost wages from the show instead of that season plus two more.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Allen White urged the parties to come to a settlement, saying, "You're going to spend a lot of money on this case."

Sheridan originally sued for $20 million, saying she was slapped in the face by Cherry and then written off the show.

The actress then dropped claims of emotional abuse and later, the judge tossed her claims of sexual harassment and assault. Now, the lawsuit is over wrongful termination.

Judge White said Sheridan's role on the show beyond the sixth season was at the producer's discretion. So, her damages are limited to that one missed season. The total would amount to about $980,000.

The jury trial is scheduled for October. Meanwhile, the show is shooting its eighth and last season. Cherry said original castmembers would be back for the finale, but Sheridan says she won't return.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Nicollette Sheridan is set to have her day in court, with her jury trial against ABC for wrongful termination beginning today. Sheridan is out to prove that the network killed off her character after she spoke out against series creator Marc Cherry and his alleged abuse.

The actress initially made allegations of sexual abuse, gender harassment, assault and battery, infliction of emotional distress, wrongful termination, and more, but during the pre-trial narrowed down her accusations to wrongful termination and battery. One of her most powerful arguments will reference a dispute with Cherry over a line of dialogue, whereby the executive supposedly struck her open-handed on the back of the head. Shortly after, her character, Edie Britt, was killed off in a shocking and unexpected episode.

If Sheridan is victorious, she will be eligible to collect one year's salary at about $4 million. Her original request to collect on pay from the show's full run was denied by the judge.

Sheridan plans to call a slew of witnesses to testify, including many top and current ABC executives, her entertainment lawyer, her publicist, and one of the show's former producers. On his behalf, Cherry will be calling castmembers Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, and Eva Longoria, along with 25 other individuals involved in production. Both Cherry and Sheridan will also testify.

ABC hopes to prove that the fate of Sheridan's character on the show was an inevitable side of scripted television, and that death of a character and the subsequent loss of an actor's job is routine.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry stood by his story in court Monday that he struck Nicollette Sheridan with only his fingers, simply to demonstrate a physical scene.

Sheridan's attorneys were intent on proving that his actions were hurtful and inappropriate, but Cherry maintained he wasn't acting maliciously.

When asked if the actress ever gave him permission to demonstrate the scene on her, Cherry replied, "I didn't think I needed to. Permission was understood."

He did admit he felt badly about what happened and consulted multiple people on set before deciding it would be best to apologize to Sheridan.

He also felt she was lying about the allegations and blowing them out of proportion, but once ABC human resources cleared him of any wrongdoing, he felt vindicated.

The trial is ongoing.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Desperate Housewives stars Eva Longoria, Felicity Huffman, and Marcia Cross will likely not be testifying in Nicollette Sheridan's trial against show creator Marc Cherry and his alleged abuse.

Lawyers argue that Sheridan's co-stars aren't vital witnesses since none of them witnessed the incident in question, in which Cherry supposedly struck Sheridan in the head with his fingers. They are also uninformed as to the reason Sheridan's character Edie Britt was killed off.

The trial, which is already running longer than expected, has been given a date of next week to wrap up, but both sides still have long lists of witnesses that they believe can support their argument and influence the verdict.

Had Sheridan's co-stars taken part in the trial, they all were expected to side with the defense and support Cherry and ABC's version of events. The only Housewife who was not even asked to appear was Teri Hatcher, who reportedly had an on-set showdown with Sheridan years ago.

James Denton, who's character had a fling with Sheridan's on the show, is expected to testify Thursday following the testimony of Sabrina Ward, who is an executive producer and Cherry's business partner. ABC head Stephen McPherson is scheduled to appear on Friday.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Former ABC president Stephen McPherson testified Friday that he approved a plan to kill off Nicollette Sheridan's character, Edie Britt, months before the alleged abuse incident occurred between the actress and show creator Marc Cherry.

McPherson's testimony backs the defense's case, which claims the decision to kill off Sheridan's role was made in May 2008 during a closed door meeting between the ABC chief, former Touchstone studio head Mark Pedowitz, executive producer Sabrina Wind, and defendant Marc Cherry. Sheridan's claims Cherry struck her in the head with his fingers occurred in September 2008.

When questioned as to why there were no memos written about the meeting, McPherson said simply: "We wanted to keep it confidential. We always do that with any character on the show. We don't want it to get out."

Sheridan's lawyers were quick to attack McPherson's credibility by raising questions as to why he resigned suddenly from the network in July 2010, but the judge ruled the inquiry irrelevant. At the time, the The Hollywood Reporter reported that his exit was related to an internal sexual harassment allegation, but nothing was ever confirmed.

McPherson now owns his own company, McPherson Global Ventures.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Nicollette Sheridan's battery claim against Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry has been dismissed. LA Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Allen White issued the verdict Tuesday morning as part of a discussion giving the jury instructions. The ruling means that Cherry is no longer a defendant in the case.

Although Sheridan and her lawyers were upset with the decision, they are moving forward with their wrongful termination claims against ABC. Sheridan's character, Edie Britt, was killed off the show following the incident with Cherry, and her counsel believes it was retaliation.

The decision to dismiss the battery case comes on the heels of surprise witness Michael Reinhart, who testified that he saw an e-mail in fall 2010 which directed the show's producers and ABC executives to delete all correspondence regarding the killing of Sheridan's character. He also stated that he was reluctant to testify because of the possible ramifications to his career, but he felt it was necessary to equalize the inequality.

Following Cherry's dismissal, he issued a brief statement to the media: "Obviously I'm thrilled by the judge's decision. But I'm going to withhold further comment until this matter is resolved completely."

Closing arguments are expected to wrap up Wednesday. Each side has been given two hours to sum up their case before it goes to the jury.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Nicollette Sheridan's wrongful termination lawsuit against ABC and Desperate Housewives series creator Marc Cherry ended in a mistrial Monday.

Jurors felt that some of the key witnesses in the case weren't credible, and there were unanswered questions about how the investigation into the alleged abuse Sheridan suffered was handled by ABC.

"In my estimation," ABC's inquiry "wasn't handled correctly... I won't say there was a cover up. That's a strong word, but it wasn't handled right," juror Beverly Crosby said in a statement after the verdict was read.

Sheridan came off as someone who stood proud against a powerful network, and the jury voted 8-4 throughout all three days of considering the evidence. A key testimony made by Housewives executive producer George Perkins reinforced Sheridan's claims that her character was killed off in retaliation to her complaint about Cherry, but there was no "smoking gun" that could prove either side with absolute certainty.

Although ABC attorney Adam Levin believes he did his job by whittling down the actress' $20 million suit, it would have been more advantageous for the network to pay out a relatively small amount of money and settle the case. Sheridan is seeking $5.7 million in lost wages. Although it will cost hundreds of thousands more dollars in additional legal fees, both sides believe the trial will be resolved in the coming months.

LOS ANGELES, California (x17online) - Nicollette Sheridan will return to court to seek a retrial for her Desperate Housewives case that resulted in a hung jury last month.

Judge Elizabeth Allen White is expected to decline ABC's request for a directed verdict, which would end the trial. Instead, she could grant Sheridan a retrial which could be expedited, meaning a trial would begin in six weeks.

Sheridan filed the suit against the show's executive producer Marc Cherry and ABC for wrongful termination and battery in 2010. She is currently seeking $5.7 million in damages as well as $35,000 in sanctions against ABC's lawyers for their actions during the trial.

LOS ANGELES, California (x17online) - ABC's hit show Desperate Housewives aired their series finale on Sunday, bringing back many familiar faces for the farewell except former castmate Nicollette Sheridan.

During the final scene, Susan Delfino (Teri Hatcher) experienced memories of her deceased neighbors as she one last drive down Wisteria Lane but Sheridan's character was left out of the memorable montage.

While Sheridan was a key star on the hit ABC soap, her absence wasn't a surprise as the actress filed a $20 million dollar lawsuit against the network and creator Marc Cherry for sexual assault and wrongful termination in 2010.

Her battery charged against Cherry was dismissed while the trial didn't reach a verdict in March. A retrial scheduled for September 10, 2012.