Jon & Kate Plus 8 star Jon Gosselin has filed a $5 million counterclaim lawsuit against TLC.
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Gosselin's counterclaim claims TLC -- which sued him for breach of contract last month -- hindered his ability to make money by preventing him from working with other media outlets due to an exclusivity clause in his contract with the network, People reported Friday.
"Their behavior has caused Jon great anguish and it has caused him financial losses," his attorney Mark Heller told People.
Gosselin's counterclaim also reportedly alleges TLC's Discovery Communications parent company began contacting media outlets in August to "persuade" them from dealing with him.
"As a result of Plaintiff-Discovery's conduct and actions, [Gosselin] has suffered and will continue to suffer harm to his reputation, lost business opportunities, lost profits, and other consequential damages, such as, but not limited to, a loss of good will and name recognition," reads the lawsuit, a copy of which was obtained by Radar Online.
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In addition, the lawsuit also alleges TLC breached its own contract with Gosselin since he hasn't been compensated $175,000 for Jon & Kate Plus 8 episodes that have already aired.
According to People, Heller is also claiming that Gosselin "did not have an attorney or manager present when he signed" the Gosselin family's current contract with TLC in April 2008.
"They had a cadre of lawyers so they had a one-sided agreement," Heller told People.
TLC's lawsuit accuses Gosselin of following through on a threat to force the network to stop filming his children and end Jon & Kate Plus 8 after it refused to release him from an exclusivity contract clause that was preventing him from earning "substantial" money by appearing on other television shows. According to TLC, Gosselin has been committing "numerous breaches" of the exclusivity clause and violating several other provisions of the April 2008 contract.
The network's lawsuit also claims Gosselin and his estranged wife Kate "were represented by both their manager and their lawyer" during the negotiations that led to the April 2008 contract and had been retaining legal counsel since 2007 when the parties negotiated new terms for Jon & Kate Plus 8's second season.
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According to TLC's lawsuit, the contract also gave the network the right to begin withholding the family's Jon & Kate Plus 8 payments to help cover any legal fees and expenses associated with addressing a contract breach.
Heller subsequently characterized TLC's lawsuit as "weak, feeble and baseless."
Gosselin is scheduled to be in court on December 14 for a hearing related to TLC's lawsuit, People reported.
According to Gosselin's counterclaim, the April 2008 contract paid the family $22,500 for each half-hour Jon & Kate Plus 8 episode and $45,000 for each one-hour episode.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio