Diddy shops in London

Sean "Diddy" Combs has reached a settlement with a North Carolina man who said the bodyguards hired by the rap mogul beat him after a concert in 1995. Details of the confidential settlement reached Monday were not released. "We amicably settled, and that's all we can say," said Herman Stephens, an attorney for Cedrick Bobby Lemon, who filed the lawsuit in May 2002. According to the lawsuit, Lemon worked as a limousine driver and wore an identification badge that permitted him to stand backstage during a concert by Mary J. Blige in June 1995. Combs was Blige's manager at the time. As two bodyguards tried to clear the backstage area to escort Blige from the Joel Coliseum following the concert, they punched Lemon in the head, kicked him in the back and broke his right ankle, according to the lawsuit. Combs was negligent because he failed to properly train the bodyguards, the lawsuit said. [6abc]