After Huang Zitao (EXO's Tao, now known as Z.Tao in China) officially announced that he would be terminating his contract with SM Entertainment, it seemed to only be a matter of time before his former group label fired back.

So much for those early summer negotiations.

Earlier this week, SM Entertainment announced that the company would be filing an official lawsuit against former EXO member Tao. Specifically, the lawsuit was filed against Tao and the production company that produced his solo album.

"Our lawsuits against Tao and the album production company that aided in Tao's illegal celebrity activities have officially been registered in the Beijing Court on September 18," said an SM Representative (via Allkpop).

According to further explanation, their lawsuit claims that Tao's Chinese promotions were illegal due to his remaining contract with the SM Entertainment. Moreover, the company claims that he left the team and agency without notice.

"Until the court makes its final decision, the contract between SM and Tao is still in effect, and Tao must uphold the contract and cannot carry out illegal celebrity activities."

Tao now joins fellow Chinese artists Luhan and Kris Wu in ongoing lawsuits due to contractual issues with SM Entertainment. The issues surrounding Tao's EXO membership began in April 2015, after Tao's father issued a statement on a Weibo account that Tao would leave the group because of a severe leg injury.

After Tao ended his EXO activities, the company maintained that they were working toward a positive resolution. Once Tao began his solo debut promotions in China, many began to suspect that no resolution would be reached.

Finally, Tao filed a lawsuit in order to terminate his contract in August.

Tao released his official solo debut album in China on July 23.