Jon Gosselin About to Be Steamrolled by TLC

Jon & Kate Plus 8 network suing the reality dad for breach of contract, thanks to that big mouth and supposedly empty wallet of his

UPDATE: Jon's attorney, Mark Jay Heller, released a lengthy statement Saturday: "Apparently, TLC has elected to initially litigate this case in the Court of Public Opinion, rather than the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland, because neither Jon nor I have been served with legal pleadings or informed by TLC of the instant litigation," claiming to have instead read about the proceedings via the Internet.

Heller says his client will "vigorously defend against this baseless action" and that he will prove that TLC "exploited, manipulated and abused the Gosselins' vulnerability and financial hardship."

Because of said circumstances, Heller views the "alleged contract [with TLC] as null and void, unenforceable and unconscionable."

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You knew it was only a matter of time before Jon Gosselin got served.

While some might argue he needs to be served something a bit more bone-crushing, we don't condone violence, so today's TLC-sanctioned lawsuit will have to do.

The network behind Jon & Kate Plus 8 or Kate Plus 8 or whatever it's called these days filed suit in Maryland this morning against the former headliner for breach of contract.

This is not because Kate Gosselin's estranged hubby has halted production on the reality series claiming the show is not in the 8's best interest. Rather, Jon has signed his life over to is an exclusive employee of TLC and is not really supposed to be running his mouth on programs like Entertainment Tonight or The Insider, which are paying him to appear. And he's further ignoring his obligations by making unauthorized disclosures about behind-the-scenes antics.

In a statement, the network says it's been trying "privately and patiently" for months to convince Jon to honor his contract, but "those efforts have been unsuccessful."

And TLC isn't messing around—the net has hired the high-powered Washington, D.C.-based law firm of Williams & Connolly to help convince Jon to follow the rules outlined in his contract and give up any money he's made for appearing elsewhere.

When the paparazzi caught up with Jon after the news broke today, he told them, "You'll have to contact [lawyer] Mark Jay Heller for a comment only because, uh, I'm we can't comment on litigation or anything like that 'cause I'm not a lawyer so see you in court."

Something tells us this is just the beginning of the octodad backlash.

(Originally published Oct. 16, 2009, at 8:32 a.m. PT)