A judge declared a mistrial Monday in Nicollette Sheridan's wrongful termination trial after the jury deadlocked, leaving an unresolved finale to a two-week trial that focused on the behind-the-scenes intrigue and personalities of TV's "Desperate Housewives." 
 
 Nicollette Sheridan arrives at court Thursday, March 15, 2012, in Los Angeles. A jury will enter their second day of deliberations into Sheridan's claims that she was wrongfully terminated from the show... (Associated Press) 
 
 Nicollette Sheridan arrives at court Thursday, March 15, 2012, in Los Angeles. A jury will enter their second day of deliberations into Sheridan's claims that she was wrongfully terminated from the show... (Associated Press) 
 
 Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Allen White excused the panel after it deadlocked 8-4 in favor of Sheridan's claim. 
 
 Sheridan strolled out of the courthouse moments after the decision without speaking to reporters. Her attorney Mark Baute said he would re-try the case. 
 
 The jury first reported problems in deliberations on Thursday then resumed discussions until Monday. 
 
 Sheridan had been seeking roughly $6 million from her former employers. 
 
 Sheridan claimed her role as Edie Britt was eliminated because she complained that series creator Marc Cherry struck her in the head during a September 2008 on-set dispute. 
 
 ABC attorneys denied all wrongdoing and presented witnesses who said Cherry received permission from top studio and network officials to kill Britt four months before his dispute with Sheridan. 
 
 Cherry denied hitting the actress, claiming he tapped her on the head for artistic direction. 
 
 The jury of nine women and three men was presented conflicting evidence and testimony throughout the trial. A vote of at least 9-3 was required to reach a verdict. 
 
 Defense attorney Adam Levin said Sheridan's account of Cherry striking her had grown "progressively more exaggerated" over the years, and pointed to the testimony of numerous witnesses who supported Cherry's testimony that he killed off the actress' role for creative reasons. 
 
 Baute accused ABC's witnesses of lying and destroying evidence. 
 
 Sheridan sued Cherry in April 2010, claiming he hit her and later killed off her character after he was exonerated by an ABC human resources investigation. 
 
 Initially, the Britt character had only been expected to appear in the show's pilot, but Cherry said he urged ABC to make her a regular on "Desperate Housewives" and later lobbied for Sheridan to receive a share of the show's profits. The glossy primetime comedy/soap opera was a ratings hit in its early seasons, but viewership has dwindled. 
 
 By the show's fifth season, during which Britt was killed off, the show's producers were under pressure to cut costs, and Cherry said all storytelling options for Sheridan's character had been expended. 
 
 Cherry testified that co-stars were relieved when they learned Sheridan's role was being cut, and he accused the actress of arriving late and forgetting her lines. Baute noted that none of those allegations were ever documented. 
 
 During the trial, Baute said it didn't make sense that Sheridan's contract was renewed weeks after the decision to dump her character. The agreement guaranteed the actress would be paid for the entire season and get a full share of the series' profits. 
 
 Levin and defense witnesses frequently cited the death toll for characters in the show as evidence that Sheridan's role could be cut at any time. Many of the deaths involved minor characters. 
 
 The show featured days of testimony from Sheridan, Cherry, actor James Denton and several current and former show workers. It did not feature appearances by any of the show's other stars, including Eva Longoria and Felicity Huffman. 
 
 "Desperate Housewives" is in its eighth and final season. Cherry is working on other projects, including a new show titled "Devious Maids," but Sheridan has struggled since leaving the series' Wisteria Lane. She has not found steady work or an agent in the past two years, her entertainment attorney told jurors. 
 
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 ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co. 
 
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 Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP 

 Story highlights Juror says she questioned credibility of ABC's witnesses 
 
 Actress Nicollette Sheridan sued the show's creator and ABC for wrongful termination 
 
 She claims her firing was in retaliation for complaining she was struck by show's creator 
 
 The jury was deadlocked at 8-4, in favor of the actress 
 
 A judge declared a mistrial Monday in actress Nicollette Sheridan's wrongful termination lawsuit against "Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry and ABC. 
 
 The jury told the judge they were deadlocked at 8-4, in favor of the actress, after three days of deliberations. They needed nine jurors to agree on a verdict. 
 
 Sheridan sued, claiming her character was killed -- and her acting job eliminated -- in retaliation for her complaining that Cherry hit her during a rehearsal for the ABC comedy. 
 
 Lawyers for Cherry and ABC's Touchstone Television argued the demise of her character was a creative decision unrelated to the workplace complaint. 
 
 ABC executives testified that Cherry gained their permission to have Edie Britt -- the sassy blonde played by Sheridan -- die in May 2008, four months before an incident in which Cherry allegedly struck Sheridan. 
 
 The hit during a rehearsal was just "a light tap on the head" intended to demonstrate "a piece of physical humor" Cherry wanted Sheridan to perform, the defense said in opening statements. 
 
 JUST WATCHED Feuding on 'Desperate Housewives' set Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Feuding on 'Desperate Housewives' set 03:23 
 
 Sheridan testified that Cherry hit her because he was frustrated during a discussion over her lines in a scene. "It was a nice wallop to my head" she said. 
 
 One juror who voted for Sheridan's case said afterward that the defense story "just didn't hold water for me." 
 
 Beverly Crosby, a retired elementary school principal, said her decision to find the studio liable was based on her doubts about the credibility of several defense witnesses, which included high-level ABC executives. 
 
 "There were a lot of people that some of the jurors found not too credible," Crosby said. 
 
 Juror Johnny Huynh, who also voted for Sheridan's side, said it seemed to him that ABC executives scripted their stories "just a little bit." 
 
 "I don't say they was scripted," Huyhn said. "It's more like the story don't match for me." 
 
 Sheridan lawyer Mark Baute said while there was no victory, the jury's 8-4 vote did send a message to ABC and parent company Disney. 
 
 "They had 10 witnesses tell their little scripted story, with no documents, and eight jurors looked at their best, their presidents, and said, 'No, I'm not buying it, I'm not buying what you're selling, Mr. President,' " Baute said. 
 
 Lawyers will now prepare for a retrial, because an out-of-court settlement is not expected, he said. 
 
 "My view is that Disney is the unhappiest place on Earth, so why would there ever be a settlement offer?" Baute said. 
 
 ABC lawyer Adam Levin said the retrial will be "far more narrow than the previous case" since the judge tossed out Sheridan's battery complaint, leaving only the wrongful termination issue against the studio. In fact, Cherry is no longer a defendant, he said. 
 
 The jury of nine women and three men began deliberating on Wednesday but told the judge on Monday morning they were hopelessly deadlocked. 
 
 Although the show's line producer reported the hitting incident to the studio's human resources department, there was no investigation until an ABC senior executive saw a National Enquirer story about it at a grocery store two months later, according to testimony. 
 
 What followed was a "fake" investigation designed "to protect the money machine known as 'Desperate Housewives,'" Baute said. "Nobody wants the 'Desperate Housewives' applecart turned upside down." 
 
 The human resources investigator did not interview Cherry or Sheridan about the incident, only three people who worked for Cherry, Baute said. 
 
 Five months and 11 episodes after the rehearsal incident, Cherry informed Sheridan that Britt would die during a show taping the next day, ending her five-year run on "Desperate Housewives." 
 
 "To my estimation, it wasn't handled correctly," juror Crosby said. "It wasn't handled the way it should have been handled." 
 
 Sheridan was asking for $5.7 million in damages from ABC and Cherry, although the actress was paid $4 million in her last year of work and is still earning royalties from her vested interest in the hit series.
– With jurors deadlocked 8-4 in favor of actress Nicollette Sheridan's wrongful dismissal lawsuit against Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry and ABC, a Los Angeles judge has declared a mistrial. After three days of deliberations, jurors could not get the ninth vote they needed to reach a verdict, reports CNN. Sheridan had sought $5.7 million in damages, and contends that Cherry killed off her character after she complained that he hit her during rehearsals. Sheridan's lawyer says he will re-try the case, reports the AP. Stay tuned.