TV 'Biggest Loser' fan favorite Tara Costa sued for allegedly gaining weight July 9, 2013 at 2:39 PM ET 
 
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 Courtesy of Tara Costa 
 
 When she took part in "The Biggest Loser" back in 2009, Tara Costa had to step on the scale each week for all to see. Now, four years later, her weight is back in the spotlight again. 
 
 Costa became a fan favorite during her stint on "Loser," sweeping the challenges almost every week and ending the season in second place after dropping 155 pounds. She was so popular, she even came back to compete against players in a one-off challenge in 2011 (which she also won). 
 
 That popularity led to business deals for the reality TV star. One such deal was with a company called FC Online Marketing Inc., which owns ILoveKickboxing.com. The arrangement between the parties involved public appearances and -- at least according to FCOM -- Costa maintaining her weight loss. 
 
 But FCOM claims Costa didn't stick to that last part of the agreement, and now the company is suing her. 
 
 "We hired Tara Costa in 2011 to be a spokesperson," Michael Parrella, the company's chief executive, recently told Newsday. "She came on at a certain weight. We had a fitness clause. She was in material breach after she gained, in my opinion, about 45 pounds. She was supposed to visit 15 of our franchise locations, but we weren't able to send her anywhere because she gained a lot of weight." 
 
 Of course, there's a point of contention. According to Costa, the suit claims she gained too much weight during a time when she was actually "the most fit" she's ever been. 
 
 In a recent tweet, Costa said the time period included when she "did Kona." Costa took part in the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii in 2011 and completed the grueling triathlon -- swimming 2.4 miles in 1 hour and 24 minutes, biking 112 miles in 6 hours and 51 minutes, and finally running a full 26.2-mile marathon in 5 hours and 13 minutes. 
 
 Costa's lawyer, Darren Heitner, insists the trouble isn't about weight at all. 
 
 "This case has absolutely nothing to do with Ms. Costa’s weight and everything to do with FC Online’s breach of an appearance contract, along with their exploitation of Ms. Costa’s name and image without compensation on a website that promoted their commercial services," he told TODAY.com. "Since appearing on season seven of NBC’s hit series, 'The Biggest Loser,' Ms. Costa has remained physically fit and even participated in an Ironman competition. FC Online’s effort to frame any debate as one related to Ms. Costa’s appearance is misguided and will be exposed throughout the litigation. 
 
 ILoveKickboxing.com 
 
 "Ms. Costa fully intends to file a countersuit against FC Online in which she will seek a reasonable royalty and exemplary damages for FC Online’s nonconsensual use of her name, image and likeness, and will further ask the Court to award her damages for FC Online’s failure to pay her pursuant to the guaranteed appearances that she was willing, able and excited to be a part of," he said. 
 
 Heitner also said that FCOM continued to use Costa's image despite the alleged problems. 
 
 "It is notable that despite FC Online’s supposed efforts to distance itself from an overweight individual, it continued to display her name and likeness in association with the services it was offering," the Miami-based attorney told TODAY.com. "FC Online’s lawsuit against Ms. Costa is nothing more than a worthless disguise intended to cover-up its own wrongdoing." 
 
 As for Costa, she's posted several images of her own online recently, and they certainly make a strong case for her current physical condition. 
 
 
 
 
 
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 'Biggest Loser' Star Sued By Fitness Company You Can't Get Fat Again!!! 
 
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 As if re-gaining a bunch of weight wasn't bad enough, former "" staris now being SUED for porking up again ... and it could cost her a lot of money, TMZ has learned.FC Online Marketing -- which owns ILoveKickboxing.com -- has filed a lawsuit against Costa claiming it entered into a fitness promotional agreement with the reality star ... but she didn't hold up her end of the bargain.The deal breaker ... FCOM says Costa -- who famously lost 155 POUNDS on "The Biggest Loser: Couples 2" back in 2009 -- had re-gained "far too much weight" in 2011 to represent the brand in photo shoots and public appearances.FCOM says it paid Costa's foundation $45,000 in exchange for her image and likeness ... but since she got fat again, her image has lost all value to the company.FCOM is now suing Costa for breaching the don't-get-fat agreement, demanding unspecified damages.For what it's worth ... from Costa's recent Twitter pics, it appears she's back down to her fighting weight (or close to it) but FCOM insists the damage is already done. Attempts to reach Costa were not successful.
– Tara Costa lost 155 pounds during her 2009 stint on the Biggest Loser, becoming a "fan favorite," Today reports. Her popularity led to endorsement deals, including one with ILoveKickboxing.com. The company says the deal required Costa to maintain her weight loss and make public appearances—but, the company alleges in a new lawsuit against Costa, she gained about 45 pounds and, as a result, wasn't able to make appearances. Costa disputed the claims on Twitter, saying the time period referred to in the lawsuit covered the time she took part in Ironman in 2011, when she "was the most fit I have ever been in my life." Her lawyer says the real issue is the parent company, FC Online Marketing, breaching the contract and exploiting Costa's "name and image without compensation on a website that promoted their commercial services." She will file a countersuit, he says. (TMZ helpfully informs us that "from Costa's recent Twitter pics, it appears she's back down to her fighting weight.")