Kate Gosselin Banks Big Bucks as Jon Loses First Round in Court

Judge orders Jon to repay $180,000 to estranged couple's joint bank account; Kate may have to cough up, too

Score one for Kate Gosselin.

The blonder half of reality TV's favorite estranged spouses won a major victory during this morning's court showdown on the couple's disputed money matters.

Judge Arthur R. Tilson has ordered Jon Gosselin to return $180,000 of the $235,000 he withdrew from the bank without the missus' permission—a big violation of a previous arbitration ruling.

"Mr. Gosselin must repay this sum on or before Oct. 26," Kate's attorney, Mark Momjian, said in a statement to E! News. "If he fails to do so, he must appear before the court for contempt proceedings.

"The remaining sum of $55,000, which Ms. Gosselin used for household bills and expenses relating to the children, will be subject to further determination by the arbitrator at a later date."

But Kate might also have to cough up some cash...

In response to Jon's allegations that Kate has not been forthright about her own checkbook—suppposedly appropriating family-earmarked money and hiding proceeds from book sales—she has also been ordered to provide an accounting by the next hearing on Oct. 26.

The decision came following an hourlong trip the to Montgomery County courthouse featuring an oddball cast that included the Jon & Kate principals, a small army of lawyers, an arbitrator, a judge, Kate's omnipresent bodyguard and, monitoring the developments from a nearby outpost, Michael Lohan, showing support for new BFF Jon.

"As difficult as this has been for me, I am pleased that the court has ruled fairly on behalf of myself and my children," Kate said in a statement. "Now that this matter has been ruled on, I look forward to returning to private arbitration, as we have agreed to do, to resolve any remaining issues."

Speaking on behalf of Team Jon was his lawyer, Mark Heller.

"All of the attorneys on both sides worked very hard. We are very pleased with the outcome of the court proceeding and the arbitration session," he said.

"We are very hopeful that there will soon be a resolution," he added, referring to the couple's overall finances.