Tiger Woods just escaped a $30 million lawsuit filed by his ex-girlfriend as a judge dismisses her case, where she was trying to get an NDA nullified over alleged sexual harassment.
In October of 2022, Wood’s ex-girlfriend of 6 years, Erica Herman, filed a $30 million lawsuit against Woods and his Jupiter Island Irrevocable Homestead Trust — which owns his $54 million Florida mansion — seeking to have an NDA agreement nullified.
39-year-old Herman — who previously worked for the pro golfer at his South Florida restaurant The Woods Jupiter — claimed that 47-year-old Woods made her sign the non-disclosure agreement at the beginning of their relationship in August 2017.
She claimed that she was forced to sign the agreement as a condition to keep her job when she began having a sexual relationship with him. Then in March of 2023, Herman claimed that the NDA was now being wrongfully enforced.
Herman then accused Woods of sexual harassment, with this being the reason as to why she wanted the NDA to be nullified. She further alleged that Woods’ private trust, that was enforcing the NDA, was attempting to silence her from speaking out about their 6-year relationship.
She argued that the NDA should be “declared unenforceable” under the federal Speak Out Act — which voids the enforceability of any NDA agreements that were enacted prior to disputes involving sexual assault or sexual harassment.
After Herman brought sexual assault claims against Woods in March, shortly after, his lawyers spoke out and denied all allegations. They claimed that Herman’s request to nullify the NDA bares “reference to the statute, without any allegations to support its application to the facts of this case.”
They also describe Herman 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.”
Woods’ attorneys also claimed that in Herman’s filing to nullify the NDA, she allegedly checked a box marked “No,” in a field that asked her whether or not her case “involved allegations of sexual abuse.”
Then in early May, new court documents were filed by Herman and her attorneys to continue requesting for the NDA to be nullified.
Herman’s attorney, Benjamin Hobas, stated, “Mr. Woods was Ms. Herman’s boss. On Mr. Woods’s own portrayal of events, he imposed an NDA on her as a condition to keep her job when she began having a sexual relationship with him. A boss imposing different work conditions on his employee because of their sexual relationship is sexual harassment.”
Hobas added, “Tiger Woods, the internationally renowned athlete and one of the most powerful figures in global sports, decided to pursue a sexual relationship with his employee, then – according to him – forced her to sign an NDA about it or else be fired from her job.”
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Case Dismissed: Tiger Woods Escapes $30 Million Lawsuit From Ex-Girlfriend Wanting NDA Nullified Over Alleged Sexual Harassment
Now, as of Wednesday (May 17), a Florida judge presiding over Herman’s case against Woods, has ruled that the case is dismissed and she must abide by the NDA she signed and resolve her cases, where she is seeking millions, through a private arbitration behind closed doors.
It is reported that in an 11-page opinion, Circuit Judge Elizabeth Metzger rejected Herman’s request to nullify an NDA due to alleged sexual harassment. Judge Metzger called Herman’s allegations “vague and threadbare,” adding, “Herman has had the opportunity (to) provide factual specificity for any claim relating to sexual assault or sexual harassment, however, she has not done so.”
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