During an escalating court dispute sparked by Tiger Woods’s barrening her from his home last fall, Tiger Woods’ former live-in girlfriend has asked a Florida judge to release her from a nondisclosure agreement.
According to Woods’s lawyers, Erica Herman, whom he dated for six years, cannot sue him because the NDA requires them to resolve all disputes through confidential arbitration. A federal law stating that alleged victims of sexual assault and sexual harassment cannot be barred from filing lawsuits is the reason the NDA is unenforceable, Herman contends in a complaint filed Monday.
The complaint, first reported by TMZ, did not specify whether Herman had made or would make such allegations against Woods. Her attorney, Benjamin T. Hodas, did not respond Wednesday to a message seeking comment.
Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Woods’ attorney in one of the lawsuits, J.B. Murray, said he was not permitted to comment.
As Herman sued a trust without naming its famous owner, a court fight that began quietly as a landlord-tenant dispute sheds extraordinary light on the kinds of secretive agreements rich and powerful men sign in their personal dealings. His private life could be brought under unwanted scrutiny once again by the litigation, years after scandals involving serial cheating and driving under the influence of prescription drugs.
A circuit civil court in Martin County, Florida filed a lawsuit against Jupiter Island Irrevocable Homestead Trust, which is controlled by Woods, in October. Herman referred to the “duties that were performed and expected of [Herman] in light of the overall circumstances and environment in which she lived” in that lawsuit, apparently referencing her relationship with Woods.
According to Herman, representatives of the trust persuaded her to pack for a brief trip, but upon reaching the airport, they informed her that she could not enter her house. Martin alleged that these agents enlisted an attorney to confront her with proposals for remedying their fraudulent activities and denied her re-entry into her residence. She also claimed that they took out over $40,000 in cash belonging to herself while making unfounded and insulting accusations about how she had earned it.
Woods was not named in the complaint, which wasn’t reported in the media at the time. In response, Woods’ lawyers argued that the golfer lived in the home with his children and that an NDA requiring that their disputes be handled confidential made her complaint invalid.
Over Herman’s eviction claims, Woods’ lawyers disclosed that they were already in arbitration, with multiple potential witnesses. By filing the suit in a public forum, she violated the NDA because her claims “arise from the breakup of her relationship with Mr. Woods.” An NDA signed by Woods and Herman was included in that court filing, mostly redacted.
He has been a fixture in Woods’ public life since his recovery from multiple injuries in recent years, including a single-car crash near Los Angeles in 2021 that left him with multiple fractures in his right leg.
