Sheridan v. Touchstone Television Prods., LLC, 2015 WL 6153287 (Cal. Ct. App. 2015)

Nicollette Sheridan sued Touchstone after her contract on Desperate Housewives was not renewed, alleging that her termination was in retaliation for her complaint about a battery allegedly committed by show creator Marc Cherry. The trial court sustained Touchstone’s demurrer to the complaint on the ground that Sheridan had failed to exhaust her administrative remedies by first filing a claim with the Labor Commissioner. The Court of Appeal reversed, holding that the trial court’s reliance upon a now depublished opinion and a statutory framework that has since been amended (Labor Code §§ 98.7(g) and 244 – now expressly stating that administrative remedies need not be exhausted) was misplaced. Accordingly, the reversal was dismissed and the trial court was ordered to vacate its order sustaining Touchstone’s demurrer and to enter a new order overruling the demurrer to the complaint.