Slam! Just when TMZ thought they were safe, former Clippers owner Donald Sterling has hit the gossip site with a lawsuit claiming violation of privacy for the "illicitly" recorded conversation Sterling had with former friend V Stiviano, who is also named in the suit.

Back in 2013, Stiviano "surreptitiously" recorded a phone conversation with Sterling that she or an associate eventually leaked to TMZ, according to the filing. TMZ published the recordings April 25 the following year and the story made headlines, with Sterling scolding Stiviano for associating with African-Americans.

The publication of Sterling's rant led to the NBA issuing a $2.5 fine, the group banning Sterling for life and the eventual forced sale of the team. Sterling also ended up divorcing his wife Shelly last week before the couple's 60th anniversary.

The lawsuit contends TMZ's publication of the recordings lead to damage on a "scale of unparalleled and unprecedented magnitude." We're assuming Donald's seeking damages from TMZ and parent company Warner Bros of an "unprecedented magnitude" as well!

And that's not all TMZ and WB has to worry about ... The New Yorker is planning an expose to end all exposes, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The piece will reveal some of TMZ's sources, the organization's news gathering tactics which some say are hyper-unethical, and it may reveal the practice of paying for stories which would, undoubtedly, upset WB bosses. Nicholas Schmidle, who previously wrote "Getting Bin Laden," the mag's retelling of the plot to kill the notorious Al Queda leader, reported the story for over a year and, apparently, dug up LOTS of dirt. Guaranteed this issue will be on the desk of every publicist, agent and talent manager in Hollywood!

As one report on TMZ's troubles put it, "Turnabout is fair play." In other words, payback's a bitch!