R. Kelly Sued For Assault, Breach Of Contract And More

10/05/06 6:30pm

A former employee of R. Kelly, who describes himself as the artist's longtime "mentor and guide," has filed a lawsuit against him.

Henry "Love" Vaughn claims that Kelly cheated him out of songwriting royalties for his hit "Step In The Name Of Love" and had him beaten up.

Vaughn asserts that he gave Kelly the "concept" for "Step In The Name Of Love" by suggesting that they do a song based on the steppin' dance style. He claims that they made an oral agreement whereby he'd receive half of the money that Kelly earned from the song, but that Kelly reneged on the deal.

Vaughn further alleges that he visited Kelly's home in Olympia Fields, Ill. on Feb. 19 and was subsequently dragged to the basement by the singer and unnamed others. Once there, the Chicago Tribune reports, "Kelly repeatedly struck [Vaughn] about the face and body with his fists."

Olympia Fields police investigated the alleged assault and didn't file any charges.

Vaughn's suit seeks unspecified damages for assault, false imprisonment, breach of contract and other claims.

Kelly spokesperson Allan Mayer told the Tribune that there was no validity to the suit and that Vaughn was a "hanger-on" who was trying to extort money from the artist. He said that Kelly has written more than 2,000 songs without ever using a co-writer.

But he did reach a 2003 settlement with Canadian composer and guitarist Pavlo, whereby Pavlo was awarded a 25-per cent share of Kelly's hit "Fiesta." Pavlo had sued Kelly for including an unauthorized sample of his song "Fantasia" in "Fiesta." He received $125,000 U.S. on completion of the agreement, which was estimated to be worth $250,000 at the time.