Soul legend Patti Labelle has reportedly been named in a lawsuit filed by a West point cadet who claims the singer's bodyguards beat him at an airport in Houston, Texas in March.  Richard King, a 23 year-old West point senior from Houston, claims that he was just walking in the general area of Labelle's limousine, talking on a cell phone, when her bodyguards attacked him.  According to the lawsuit:  "LaBelle believed King was standing too close to her (no doubt expensive) luggage, even though he was oblivious to her presence and the danger he was in."

In addition to LaBelle, the suit also names three of her entourage, a Bush Intercontinental Airport taxi dispatcher and the airport, seeking unspecified actual and punitive damages in connection with the March 11 incident.  King's attorney, John Raley, said Thursday that his client had been suspended from West Point as a result of the episode and placed in a "mentorship" program which will require active-duty status of at least a year.