A 'Desperate Housewives' Courtroom Showdown

The off-screen drama of Desperate Housewives is front and center in a Los Angeles courtroom today as Nicollette Sheridan faces off against show creator Marc Cherry with a wrongful termination lawsuit, topped with a charge of battery.

Sheridan's character Edie was killed off the hit ABC show in the fifth season. Attorneys for the show claim that the on-screen offing was a creative decision, but Sheridan claims that she was fired for complaining that Cherry struck her during a fight in September 2008. She is expected to testify.

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Now, the battle lines are being drawn as some of the women of Wisteria Lane -- Eva Longoria, Felicity Huffman and Marcia Cross, plus co-stars James Denton and Neal McDonough -- are also expected to take the stand, reportedly in Cherry's defense.

Cameras will not be allowed inside the courtroom, however, as the court has found that cameras would be considered disruptive to the proceedings.

ABC Reacts to Nicollette Sheridan Assault Claims

Sheridan's lawsuit contends that Cherry created "a hostile work environment" from the show's beginning back in 2004. As for the battery, the suit alleges that "during a rehearsal for the show, when Sheridan questioned Cherry about something that was in the script, Cherry took her aside and forcefully hit her with his hand across her face and head."

The suit says that Sheridan lost at least $20 million by missing out on the last three seasons.

Desperate Housewives is currently in its final season.