Teri Hatcher Sued by Former Business Partner

NEW YORK (CBS) "Desperate Housewives" star Teri Hatcher and ABC are being sued by a woman who helped run the actress' production company.

Jennifer Glassman alleges that she was pushed aside and denied a promised 50 percent cut of revenue from the venture, ISBE Prods.

Pictures: Teri Hatcher

The marketing vet claims in her lawsuit that she went into business with Hatcher in 2006, and agreed to help run her production company in exchange for 50 percent of the profits it generated, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

But after the agreement, she says in the suit, Hatcher and ABC have worked to "intentionally exclude and eliminate [her] from the picture in terms of revenue sharing just prior to the successful launch of a prominent website supported by Disney."

The nine-count complaint for unspecified damages was filed on Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

According to the report, Glassman claims she played a big role at Hatcher's ABC-based company, and was involved in projects including selling Hatcher's "Burnt Toast" to Lifetime. Disney also launched a Hatcher-branded site called gethatched.com, through its family.com website.

Before the website launched, Glassman says that Hatcher soured on her and sent a mass email in February telling business contacts that the two were no longer working together. Glassman claims she then was fired by Disney-owned Touchtone TV.

Glassman "never knew or had reason to know that [Hatcher and Disney] were concealing the fact that they intended to try and treat [Glassman's] business and employment relationship with them as an 'at will employee' relationship, and ultimately 'terminate' her without cause while trying to eliminate [Glassman] from the picture, business-wise," the complaint states, according to the report.

She also claims she handled duties above and beyond the usual, including running errands and handling Hatcher's "mood swings and unusual requests."

Hatcher's rep told the Hollywood Reporter that the lawsuit is "completely without merit."

"It is unfortunate that the many opportunities Ms. Hatcher afforded the former employee are now being so implausibly twisted and contorted. The suit will be vigorously defended by the Walt Disney Co. and by Ms. Hatcher's attorneys, who also intend to file substantial counterclaims against the former employee for her reckless and premeditated misconduct on her departure."