Tiger Woods Scores Big Win in Court Battle With Ex-Girlfriend Erica Herman
A judge just ruled in Tiger Woods' favor in his court battle with his ex-girlfriend. According to the Associated Press, a Florida judged rule on Wednesday that Erica Herman must abide by a nondisclosure agreement she purportedly signed and resolved her lawsuits seeking millions from Weoods through private arbitration. Circuit Judge Elizabeth Metzger rejected Herman's attempt to end the 2017 agreement by saying Woods committed sexual harassment against her, calling Herman's allegations "vague and threadbare." Metzger also said that the evidence shows that the NDA negotiated between Herman and Woods in 2017 questions whether she signed it.
Herman's attorney, Benjamin Hodas, said that Herman signed the agreement but doesn't remember seeing the one Woods' attorneys presented to the court. The judge said if Herman denied signing the agreement, she would have ordered a hearing on that issue. But since isn't sure if she's signed it or not, the arbitrator would have to make the decision. It's not known if Herman will appeal the decision.
Herman, 39, sued both Woods and the trust that owns his $54 million mansion in Florida. She is seeking $30 million for allegations of sexual harassment. Herman says the NDA is enforceable under a new federal law that says contracts can be voided when sexual abuse or sexual harassment occurred. Herman, who managed Woods' Palm Beach County restaurant, alleged Woods threatened to fire her if she didn't sign NDA. But the sexual harassment allegation was barely mentioned during the hearing last week, and Metzger told Hodas that Herman needed more information about what allegedly happened before moving forward with the allegation.
In the court documents, Herman said the romantic relationship with Woods began in 2015 and she moved into the mansion in 2016. She also said in 2017, Woods verbally promised she could live there for at least another 11 years. In 2020, Herman left her job to take care of Woods and his children.
Woods, however, said the relationship began in 2017 and Herman moved in with him in August of that year. Before Herman moved in, Woods put the mansion into the Jupiter Island Irrevocable Homestead Trust and has himself and his two kids as beneficiaries. Woods, 47, is playing golf sparingly due to the injuries he suffered in a car accident in Feb 2021.