Denise Richards, Pamela Anderson sued

Denise Richards arrives for the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas,in this file photo from Dec. 4, 2006.(AP Photo/Chris Carlson-File)

LOS ANGELES - Two freelance photographers are suing Denise Richards and Pamela Anderson, charging that Richards assaulted them when they tried to take her picture and that the women lied about the scuffle.

According to the lawsuit filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Richards and Anderson were at the River Rock Casino Resort in British Columbia, Canada, on Nov. 9, 2006, to work on the upcoming film "Blonde and Blonder."

When Richards saw Scott Cosman and Rik Fedyck taking her picture, according to the lawsuit, she became enraged, called them "paparazzi scum" and other names, assaulted them, seized their laptop computers and threw the laptops over a hotel balcony.

The confrontation, which lasted more than 20 minutes, was recorded by hotel security cameras, according to the photographers.

Afterward, they said, Richards and Anderson "made repeated false and defamatory statements to law enforcement and various media outlets which were deliberately calculated to embarrass, humiliate and ridicule plaintiffs."

Attorneys and representatives for Richards and Anderson did not immediately respond Saturday to e-mails and phone calls seeking comment.

The photographers, who seek unspecified damages, said the incident caused them to lose revenue when clients abandoned them and also caused them emotional stress.