by Tiger Woods’ ex-girlfriend Erica Herman has asked a judge to void a non-disclosure agreement she signed when the couple began dating in 2017, citing a recent law that limits the enforcement of such agreements in sexual harassment and assault cases.
In a civil lawsuit filed Monday in Florida state court in Martin County, Herman said he believed the settlement was “void and unenforceable.” The documents do not list any allegations of harassment or aggression against the global golf star.
What is known about the process in which the journal People had access to, is that Herman says he had a verbal agreement that allowed him to stay in Woods’ home for another five years. However, after the relationship ended, the golfer, who currently lives in the estate with his two children, dumped her on the street. “He locked her out of the residence, removed her personal belongings and informed her that she could not return,” the suit states.
“Ms. Herman responded to the end of the relationship by filing this lawsuit“, the lawyers said. The woman claims her ex-boyfriend owes her $30 million (€28.38 million) for breaching the agreement.
“Due to the aggressive use of the NDA (by non-disclosure agreement; confidentiality agreement) by Woods against her (…), plaintiff is uncertain whether she can disclose, among other things, facts giving rise to multiple lawsuits,” the filed case states.
A representative for Woods did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment.
The complaint refers to the Speak Out Act, a federal law signed by President Joe Biden in December 2022 that limits the enforcement of confidentiality agreements in sexual harassment and assault cases.
In the cover letter of the complaint, her attorney Benjamin Hodas noted “yes” to the fact that the case involved allegations of sexual abuse. But there is nothing to indicate who these claims might be about.
Hondas did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tiger Woods and Erica Herman made their first public appearance in September 2017 at the President’s Cup. Since that first appearance, Herman became a regular fixture at tournaments Woods participated in, but little was known about the couple’s private life, unlike the golfer’s other relationships.
Erica Herman is absent from social media and has a modest social life. It is known that she grew up in Palm Beach County and attended Santaluces High School in the early 2000s and was a member of the school’s cheerleading squad. He entered Palm Beach State College and the University of Central Florida, having completed, in 2008, a course in legal studies, which he did not apply professionally. Previously, he dedicated himself to the catering industry: first as a bartender and then as a VIP manager in an established venue in the city. In 2015, he took over as manager of Tiger Woods’ restaurant, The Woods Jupiter, where he met the athlete.
In February 2021, when the golfer suffered a massive car accident that resulted in multiple fractures, Herman was one of the people who supported him the most, the American told the magazine Golf Digest.
In June 2022, the forbes announced that Woods’ estimated net worth had risen to $1 billion, making him one of only three billionaires in sports. The others are LeBron James and Michael Jordan.
Woods and Herman have not been seen in public together since last summer, when they attended the US Open tennis tournament in New York to support friend Serena Williams in her farewell to the courts.
