“Desperate Housewives” creator Marc Cherry has been cleared of the battery case filed by former ‘Housewives’ actress Nicollette Sheridan.

According to reports, the judge handling the case dismissed the charges against Marc Cherry after Nicollette Sheridan claimed that he struck her in the head during a rehearsal in 2008, which was at the centre of the legal battle as the actress attempts to sue her former bosses for $6 million. Apparently, the claims that Nicollette Sheridan made did not meet the standard of proof for battery, which means Marc Cherry, who admitted to giving Sheridan a ‘tap’ in the head, has been cleared.

While the trial will continue as Nicollette Sheridan attempts to seek damages for being terminated, the judge’s dismissal of the most important part of her case does not bode well after it was believed the fate of the overall outcome rested on whether or not the incident with Marc Cherry was the catalyst for her termination.

It comes after a new witness surfaced in the trial who claims to have seen an evidence of a “cover up.” The lawyers of Nicollette Sheridan told the judge on Tuesday  that they have a witness who was a low-level employee on the set of Desperate Housewives. The unnamed witness has made a statement contesting that he was mistakenly added to an ABC email which said it was using the network’s IT department to wipe everyone’s hard drives of all communications relating to the demise of Nicollette’s character, Edie Britt. ABC lawyers were clearly stunned, and responded that they had did not know of such a witness or an email. Sheridan’s lawyers told the judge that the email indicates there was “definitely a conspiracy to cover up correspondence.”

Marc Cherry, on the other hand, maintained that he was planning to kill Nicollette’s character Edie Britt months before they had an altercation during a rehearsal.

A new witness has surfaced for the trial of Nicollette Sheridan who claims seeing evidence of a “cover up.”

According to TMZ reports, the lawyers of Nicollette Sheridan told the judge on Tuesday that they have a new witness who was a low-level employee on the set of “Desperate Housewives.” The unnamed witness has made a statement arguing that he was mistakenly added to an ABC email which said it was using the network’s IT department to wipe everyone’s hard drives of all communications relating to the death of Edie Britt, the character of Nicollette Sheridan on the show. ABC lawyers were clearly stunned, and responded that they had no knowledge of such a witness or an alleged email. Nicollette’s lawyers told the judge that the email indicates there was “definitely a conspiracy to cover up correspondence.”

“Housewives” creator Marc Cherry has said that he was planning to kill the character of Nicollette Sheridan even months before they had an altercation on the set of the show. Marc Cherry admits to “tapping” her on the head to explain the scene further, while Sheridan insists it was a wallop.

The new report adds that it is unclear if the judge will let the new witness testify in front of the jury.

On Friday, former ABC Chief Stephen McPherson testified that he approved a plan to kill off the character of Nicollette Sheridan on “Desperate Housewives” four months before she was allegedly struck over the head by Marc Cherry. The fate of her $6-million wrongful termination case hinges on whether the alleged altercation, which Sheridan claims was battery, was the catalyst for the decision to kill off serial seductress Edie Britt.

During court proceedings on Friday, Mr McPherson said Marc Cherry asked for his blessing on the death of Britt during a pitch meeting in May 2008. McPherson said, “He presented information he wanted to kill the character off. This was the time he wanted to let us know in confidentiality that he wanted to end Edie’s arc.” He added that he recalled telling Marc Cherry he wanted to make the season five death “promotable.” McPherson said, “I gave them my approval. We were actually excited about the possibilities.”

Nicollette Sheridan is claiming she was fired from the show in February 2009 as vengeance for her complaint that an angry and frustrated Marc Cherry hit her ‘hard’ in September 2008.

“Desperate Housewives” creator Marc Cherry has denied the allegations of Nicollette Sheridan that he hit her with “an open hand to the side of the head.” During a court trial Thursday, Cherry testified that he only gave Sheridan a “tap to the side of her head” and nothing more.

According to Marc Cherry, Nicollette Sheridan approached him to discuss why he had cut a humorous line that she was supposed to say to her onscreen husband (Neal McDonough) to close a scene. The said line, which quoted a Beatles song, was going to be expensive to license, so Marc Cherry said he told Nicollette Sheridan to do some physical comedy instead, like giving McDonough “a pinch or a thing on the head.” Cherry explained that as a demonstration for Sheridan, he “reached out and tapped her on the side of the head,” after which she got an “odd look” on her face and yelled at Cherry, “You hit me! You hit me! And it’s not OK!” before storming off.

“What the heck just happened?” Marc Cherry recalled asking director Larry Shaw, who replied to Cherry, “Yup, directing is hard.”

Cherry described his assistant driving him over to the trailer of Nicollette Sheridan so he could get her back on the set. “I didn’t feel comfortable being alone with her in that trailer,” he noted.

Marc Cherry said in court that he told Nicollette Sheridan, “I was demonstrating some [physical humor] for you. What I wanted you to do. She seemed to understand.”

“I apologized to Nicollette… It was a sincere apology but that I had done it and inadvertently upset her. I wasn’t apologizing for hitting her because I hadn’t hit her,” Marc Cherry said on the stand.

Marc Cherry asserted that he was not “agitated” with the actress in the weeks leading up to their run-in, as the actress alleged in her testimony. Nicollette Sheridan claimed that Cherry hit her “upside the head” when she tried to discuss her script concerns with him and that she didn’t report the incident to ABC executives because she feared “retaliation” from her boss.

The network decided to have an internal investigation after then-ABC executive Mark Pedowitz saw a story about the allegedly scandalous incident in a tabloid. Marc Cherry says he had no problem with that.

“I wanted there to be an investigation because I wanted everybody to know what happened,” Cherry testified.

Although the “Housewives” creator insisted that the decision to kill off Edie Britt was finalized at least four months before their argument, Cherry said that he waited to tell Nicollette Sheridan until February 10, 2009 – the “last possible second to tell her because the script came that night and we were to shoot the next day.” Marc Cherry denied Sheridan’s claims that he “just” came to that decision, and that he had been considering the death of another character as well, before settling on Edie.

The most recent trial also discussed an email sent from Cherry’s assistant, Jason Ganzel (who drove his boss to the trailer of Nicollette Sheridan on the day in question) to the show’s executive producer Sabrina Wind.

“Marc Cherry was showing Nicollette Sheridan how to play her exit of the scene and they just finished rehearsing,” Ganzel wrote on his email. “As they were going over the different buttons to the scene, Marc was demonstrating one of the options which included tapping Nicollette on the head. She asked that he not touch her and stormed off the set. Marc and I went to her trailer where Marc apologized. Nicollette Sheridan forgave him and said she understood that he was just showing her how to play the button of the scene.”

“Desperate Housewives” writer Lori Kirkland Baker claims that ‘Housewives’ creator Marc Cherry did not originally plan to kill the character of Nicollette Sheridan, Edie Britt, in the Emmy-winning TV series – until after Cherry allegedly hit Sheridan.

Baker testified that she knew absolutely nothing about the death of Nicollette Sheridan’s character, Edie Britt until December 2008 – seven months after Marc Cherry claims he made the decision. Additionally, writer Lori Kirkland Baker said Marc Cherry brought up killing Edie after he sparred with Nicollette Sheridan on the set of “Desperate Housewives,” though Baker admits she was not present for all plot discussions.

Baker was employed by the ABC show for its 4th and 5th seasons. The writer’s contract, however, was not renewed.