The alleged incident took place in West Hollywood last week

Anthony Goodrich claimed Willis pushed his camera into his face while entering Koi in Los Angeles last week.

Willis' lawyer said the actor had merely put his hand up to shield his eyes from blinding camera flashes.

The actor said the photographer damaged his "reputation and standing in the community" and is seeking at least $1m (�540,000) for defamation of character.

According to the legal action, the actor suffered "shame, mortification, hurt feelings, embarrassment, humiliation and damage to the value of [his] name, likeness and goodwill".

'Minimal' contact

"Goodrich falsely stated that Willis stiff-armed Goodrich, shoved the photographer and pushed his camera into his face, causing injury to Goodrich's nose and teeth," the legal papers said.

Willis' lawyer Martin D Singer admitted there had been contact but said it had been "minimal and inadvertent".

He said the star was "very upset" over the story and that Mr Goodrich had made "malicious, fabricated and defamatory statements" about the incident to celebrity website TMZ.com.

The legal action was filed in Beverly Hills Superior Court on Monday as Willis was in Mexico promoting his latest film Over the Hedge.