On Friday, reportedly after several attempts to settle the matter outside a court of law, TLC, the network producing and carrying the “Jon & Kate Plus 8” reality show, filed a lawsuit against Jon Gosselin for breach of contract. In court documents, the network argues that Jon is using his children as “pawns” for his own interest, namely that of getting out of the exclusive contract it has with TLC, it has emerged, according to People magazine.

Jon Gosselin wants out of his contract with TLC, for which reason he stopped production on the show after he was nearly excluded from it, and it was renamed “Kate Plus 8.” The basis on which he managed to block the once-successful show from filming was that he felt his eight children were being exploited in front of the cameras. Therefore, as a concerned parent, he had every right to ask for production to be halted, which is exactly what happened. However, it’s Jon himself who’s exploiting the children, TLC now says in official papers.

“Jon only attempted to remove his kids after producers failed to give into his attorney’s demand to let him out of his exclusivity contract. The suit says Jon’s attorney contacted them the same day they announced they would re-launch the show in November as Kate Plus 8 and focus it on Kate’s life as a single mom. The suit says TLC only made the announcement after an unsuccessful attempt to discuss the matter with Jon.” People magazine writes of the court papers.

“[Jon] Gosselin’s counsel stated that if this release was not forthcoming within one hour’s time, defendant Gosselin would reverse his often repeated public comments to the contrary and publicly object to further filming of the program on the ground that it is purportedly detrimental to his children. When [TLC] declined to provide the release, Defendant Gosselin followed through on his threat and thereafter notified TLC that he would attempt to bar TLC’s further access to the family property and further filming of his children.” the lawsuit alleges, according to the same publication.

Gosselin’s attorney, Mark Heller, responded to the recent allegations, as we also informed you over the weekend. It was TLC that took advantage of the situation and that put financial gain even above the wellbeing of the children, Heller insisted. Moreover, the network tried to bind Jon’s every move, thus prohibiting him from earning an honest living that would, in turn, be beneficial for the children’s future.