A lawyer for Nicollette Sheridan has told a court that the actress was fired from Desperate Housewives for standing up to the series' creator after he struck her in the head.

Mark Baute said in opening statements Wednesday that the show's creator and executive producer Marc Cherry struck Sheridan hard on the head in September 2008 and fired her after ABC cleared him of wrongdoing.

Baute says any investigation by the network was a sham and Sheridan is entitled to about $US6 million ($A5.61 million) in damages.

He says the death of Sheridan's Edie Britt character was hastily planned and not the result of months of planning as Cherry claims.

Cherry and ABC have denied all wrongdoing.

Several of the show's stars, including Eva Longoria, Terri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman and Marcia Cross are potential witnesses.