Tiger Wood has to face yet another legal battle. The pro golfer’s ex-girlfriend Erica Herman has accused him of sexually harassing her while she was his employee, alleging that the athlete forced her to sign a non-disclosure agreement or be fired from her job.
Court documents filed Friday that was obtained by Sports Illustrated reveal that Herman dated Woods for more than five years. She was also an employee at his South Florida restaurant The Woods Jupiter. During her time with him, she alleged that she was forced to sign an NDA about the pair’s sexual relationship under the threat of termination, which she argues amounted to sexual harassment.
Her attorney, Benjamin Hobas, wrote in the court document. “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.” He added, “A boss imposing different work conditions on his employee because of their sexual relationship is sexual harassment.” This all comes nearly two months after she initially filed a $30 million lawsuit against him and his trust, Jupiter Island Irrevocable Homestead Trust, aiming to nullify a non-disclosure agreement she claimed he’d forced her to sign.
In Friday’s filing, Hobas also contended: “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.
Hobas provided addition details while portraying Woods. He said Herman had a verbal agreement to live at the estate for five years but was kicked and locked out of the home after an apparent plan by Woods. He allegedly told Herman to pack for a weekend getaway in the Bahamas, and when Woods drove himself and Herman to the airport, he then told Herman to speak with his lawyer and left.
“The scheme involved convincing Ms Herman to pack for a weekend excursion to the Bahamas,” the filing said. “She and Mr Woods often traveled on short notice for quick getaways, and she was told this would be another such trip. So, she took a minimum of items, expecting to return home in a few days.”
“Then, Mr. Woods’s California lawyer, out of the blue, told her that she was not going anywhere, would never see Mr. Woods again, had been locked out of the house, and could not return,” her filing stated, via USA Today. “She would not even be able to see the children or her pets again. While still in the hangar, ‘Ray Donovan with a pen’ proceeded to insult Ms. Herman, (advised) her she had no legal rights, and (tried) to force her to agree to a (different) non-disclosure and arbitration agreement.”
And, when he became disgruntled with their sexual relationship, he tricked her into leaving her home, locked her out, took her cash, pets, and personal possessions, and tried to strong-arm her into signing a different NDA.” “Now, he wants to deny her access to the courts and put this case into secret arbitration, based on a highly redacted document that he claims is a contract between them.”
Woods has not yet responded to the latest allegations made against him.