Tiger Woods, and his legal team have responded to his ex-girlfriend Erica Herman’s request to nullify a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) she signed during their relationship.
On March 6, Herman, 39, who dated Woods, 47, for nearly six years, filed court documents in regard to an NDA she signed, citing the federal Speak Out law — which prohibits an NDA from being enforced when sexual assault or sexual harassment is involved. However, according to court documents filed in Florida on March 13, Woods’ lawyers allege Herman has not submitted any sexual harassment or assault claims against their client. It also appears that Woods’ and his legal counsel are accusing Herman of attempting to circumvent specific terms of the NDA agreement which require her to privately settle all legal disputes via a closed arbitration hearing.
Tiger Woods’ girlfriend wants to nullify a nondisclosure agreement following a six-year relationship with the professional golfer. https://t.co/w3nsiJ5jGt
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 9, 2023
In the filing, Woods’ lawyers stated that Herman’s request merely bares “reference to the statute, without any allegations to support its application to the facts of this case,” while adding that the claim “is insufficient to relieve Ms. Herman from her contractual obligation to arbitrate.” Herman is also described as a, “jilted ex-girlfriend who wants to publicly litigate specious claims in court, rather than honor her commitment to arbitrate disputes in a confidential arbitration proceeding.” The filing also points out that Herman allegedly checked a box marked “no,” in a field that asks, “does this case involve allegations of sexual abuse,” in the $30 million landlord lawsuit she filed against Woods’ Jupiter Island Irrevocable Homestead Trust last October.
While the multi-million dollar lawsuit was filed last year, news of Woods and Herman’s split didn’t go public until the 39-year-old filed court documents to nullify the NDA she signed based on grounds of the Speak Out act on March 6. However, Woods’ filing firmly denies Herman’s claims of sexual abuse and instead accuses her of abusing the “judicial process,” in a statement that read, “Ms. Herman’s position is utterly meritless. It is a transparent abuse of the judicial process that undermines the purpose of the federal statute and those whom the statute seeks to protect.”
Herman claims Woods made her to sign an NDA during the early days of their relationship in 2017 — around the time she was working as a general manager for the golfer’s restaurant, The Woods Jupiter in Florida. In the lawsuit she filed requesting $30 million in damages, Herman accused the professional golfer of kicking her out of his Florida home despite an “oral tenancy,” agreement they had in place that would’ve allowed her to remain a tenant for 11 years. Herman claims that she was tricked by Woods and his agents, who she alleges unlawfully locked her out of the home after claiming she was being surprised with a short vacation. In the original October 2022 filing, Herman claims she was informed that “she was not allowed to return to her residence,” and that Woods’ attorneys attempted to confront her to “resolve the wrongdoing,” they were responsible for.
Tiger Woods’ Ex Says He Owes Her $30 Million for Locking Her Out of His Home Following Their Breakup pic.twitter.com/9OGO4b4B9u
— People (@people) March 9, 2023
However, Woods and his legal team requested to dismiss the lawsuit in a petition filed in November 2022 that claimed Herman was not a “tenant” according to Florida’s Residential Landlord Tenant Act. Additionally, in the recent court documents filed, Woods reportedly provided documentation proving that he furnished Herman with “lodging and financial support,” immediately following their break up on October 13. Woods also reportedly claims there was no oral agreement in place and that Herman was only permitted to stay in his Florida home while they were dating. As a result, Woods is requesting that the Florida courts force Herman to “abide by the NDA’s arbitration provision.”