NEWSJon Gosselin Loses to TLC in Court
Dec. 11 2009, Published 2:31 p.m. ET
TLC won it's request for a preliminary injunction against Jon Gosselin late Thursday, after a day of testimony in a Maryland court room, reports RadarOnline.com.
This means that Jon must heed the exclusivity and confidentiality agreement in his contract, and end his unapproved and paid interviews with various other outlets. The ruling will also prohibit him from continuing to pursue competing TV deals.
The action took place in Montgomery County Circuit Court and TLC will continue to litigate its breach of contract lawsuit against the reality dad. A trial date for that action has been set for April, 2010.
After the judge's ruling, TLC released this statement: "We are pleased with the Court's ruling today. The Court has validated our view that Mr. Gosselin has a valid, binding contract and that he has breached it repeatedly.
"Step one — getting the court to order Mr. Gosselin to comply with his contractual obligations — has been accomplished. Any further breaches going forward will be violations of a court order.
"We look forward to the next phase of the litigation, which is to pursue our claim for damages resulting from Mr. Gosselin's numerous breaches."
The 32-year-old was a no-show for the proceedings at the Maryland Circuit Court. He had been expected to be questioned under oath.
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TLC Chief Operating Officer Edward Sabin testified that Jon's behavior was embarrassing for the network and the family-oriented show, particularly his appearance at a Las Vegas pool party in August.
"It made the show look bad," Sabin said of Jon & Kate Plus 8. "Photos of Jon Gosselin with scores of bikini-clad women was inconsistent with our image brand of our show."
Jon's lawyer Peter Toumbekis argued that his client's lifestyle had not done any "irreparable harm" and pointed out that the controversy surrounding his split from Kate Gosselin sent the show's ratings went "through the roof!"
Toumbekis also mentioned the Pennsylvania Labor Department's investigation regarding the show's contract in the context of the children, alleging the network purposefully circumvented child labors laws and neglected to justly compensate the eight kids.
But the judge wasn't persuaded. The granting of the preliminary injunction is partially based on a belief that TLC is likely to prevail at trial.
