After 15 long seasons, Pauley Perrette ended her tenure on CBS's _NCIS _in emotional fashion earlier this year. While fans are still learning to stay goodbye to Abby Sciuto, as even Perrette didn't know how to react, the actress behind the popular forensic scientist character scored a big win in court earlier this week. As it was recently revealed, Perrette found herself victorious in a legal battle with her ex-husband, musician Francis "Coyote" Shivers, who tried to sue the actress over claims of stalking and defamation. The court felt Shivers didn't have enough sufficient evidence to back up his claims, and they claimed he couldn't file a proper suit. Here's what we know about the legal hassle between Perrette and her former husband.
As it is reported by Fox News, Francis Shivers claimed Pauley Perrette broke into his house and assaulted a female guest in an attempt to take her back. The details of the suit were made public whenever they accepted the file in error, without proper review. It's worth noting that Mr. Shivers reportedly has a history of being a "vexatious litigant" in the state of California. That means that he is known to abuse the legal system with lawsuits ultimately deemed with merit which attempt to harass or subduing a singular target. In this case, that target was Pauley Perrette, his ex-wife. Shivers got this term attached to his name back in 2008, and it appears the court has trouble believing his recent case thanks to that noted distinction.
Allegations of the window incident and claims that Pauley Perrette harassed him by sending emails to the Hollywood United Neighborhood Council, where he became a member in 2006, were swiftly discredited. Perrette also reminded the court that Francis Shivers was sentenced to nine months in jail after violating a restraining order Perrette made against him. With that said, Pauley Perrette is now officially in the clear from her ex-husband's latest claims -- for the time being, at least.
Meanwhile, it's left unclear where Pauley Perrette will go from here, professionally. The actress spoke on Twitter about her decision to leave the long-standing drama series, issuing the following statement to fans of the series.
I believe in God and the universe so firmly, and it just suddenly became blindingly apparent that now was the time. After a lot of thought, I decided to announce it myself on Twitter because I didn't want it to be turned into anything 'shocking.' Abby leaving is more than a cheap TV ploy.
Pauley Perrette's final episode on NCIS pulled in very good ratings for the station, providing CBS with some of its best live numbers of the season. Meanwhile, Perrette also hinted that she was potentially physically abused on set, but she did make a point to thank the network in response to her allegations. With that said, we're glad she had a win in court this week.
