In the latest skirmish in his war with TLC, Jon Gosselin has filed a $5 million claim against the network, saying its representatives damaged his reputation and career by preventing him from working with other media outlets.

In the suit, the reality star dad claims that the network contacted various media outlets he'd been in touch with to persuade them to stop dealing with him.

"Their behavior has caused Jon great anguish and it has caused him financial losses," says his attorney, Mark Heller, who maintains Gosselin did not have an attorney or a manager present when he signed the contract for Jon and Kate Plus Eight with TLC last year.

"They had a cadre of lawyers so they had a one-sided agreement," adds Heller.

Gosselin's lawsuit – a counterclaim against a lawsuit that TLC has filed against him – also claims the network breached its own contract with Gosselin and owes him $175,000 for shows that already aired. The Gosselins' contract, dated April 28, 2008, says he gets $22,500 for each half-hour episode and $45,000 for each one-hour episode, according to the lawsuit.

The counterclaim was filed in District Court in Rockville, Md., where TLC's parent company, Discovery Communications, is based. Earlier, the cable network had filed a lawsuit against Gosselin, claiming he is in violation of his contract with them for making paid and unpaid TV appearances without the network's permission.