Perhaps you've heard that 'Desperate Housewives' exile Nicollette Sheridan has filed a whopper of a lawsuit against ABC and Marc Cherry, the creator of the show. Her claim is that she was not only wrongfully terminated, but that Cherry struck her in September 2008 when she asked him about something in the script.

Officially, the suit covers even more than those two charges. There are seven in all: wrongful termination, assault and battery, gender violence, discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation and age, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Sheridan is seeking $20 million in compensation.

Violence against women -- or men for that matter -- is a serious charge, and it would be naive to think that this could not have happened. That said, it does seem like something right out of a 'Desperate Housewives' script. Would Marc Cherry have been so upset with Sheridan to strike her? Wouldn't it have been witnessed by other people on the set? Perhaps that will come out in the case.

ABC was contacted by Entertainment Tonight and a spokesperson responded to the filing of the suit, saying, "While we have yet to see the actual complaint, we investigated similar claims made by Ms. Sheridan last year and found them to be without merit."

There's another oddity in this stew. The court papers from Nicolette Sheridan's lawyers claim that after Cherry hit her, he apologized profusely about his actions, basically admitting he had been wrong. He begged her forgiveness, supposedly. But if that were the case, why would he wrongfully terminate the actress and open himself up to this kind of litigation? It doesn't make sense.

Sheridan's camp said that Cherry purposely arranged to have her dumped from the show. It also reveals that she was making $175,000 an episode when the assault allegedly occurred -- the fifth season -- and in the sixth, she'd be making $200,000 per and then $250,000 for the seventh.

In this day and age, litigation is hardly a surprise, so Nicolette trying to win back the income she believes she lost by being fired is understandable. And if there was an incident like the purported slap from Cherry, she's entitled to some compensation. However, in a show like 'Desperate Housewives,' she can't really make a case for Cherry firing her as a form of punishment.

It's a show with a huge cast and since it's a soap opera, characters come and go all the time. Edie Britt's death was a way to make the show move forward. You can't really prove that Cherry killed off the character just to hurt Sheridan. If she had been dumped and then they recast the role, she'd have a stronger leg to stand on.

There will be much more on this case in the months ahead, so we'll keep an eye on this. In all likelihood, it may never actually get to court. It could be settled by the lawyers.