A Florida judge ruled that Tiger Wood’s ex-girlfriend, Erica Herman, must resolve her ongoing disputes with the golf superstar through private arbitration, abiding by a nondisclosure agreement Herman signed during their relationship.
Herman recently filed a lawsuit seeking $30 million from Woods in court over disputes about her right to live in his home and was attempting to invalidate a 2017 nondisclosure agreement, which broadly required disputes to be addressed privately through arbitration and out of the court system, by claiming that the golf player sexually harassed her.
Under a new federal regulation signed by President Joe Biden in December 2022, if an NDA is connected to sexual harassment, then the agreement can be declared void, allowing disputes to be heard in public court.
In documents filed last week, Herman alleges that Woods began a sexual relationship with her while she was still an employee at his restaurant in Jupiter, Florida, and claims to have been given an ultimatum to either sign the NDA or lose her management position at the restaurant.
Judge Elizabeth A. Metzger of the Circuit Court in Martin County, Florida, ruled on Wednesday that Herman’s sexual harassment allegations against Woods lacked “factual specificity for any claim relating to sexual assault or sexual harassment,” backing Woods request to order the matter into private arbitration and uphold the terms of the NDA.
Judge Metzger also rejected Herman’s claims around “a factual dispute about the alleged formation of the arbitration agreement” because she does not recall signing the NDA. The judge ruled that the agreement “appears on its face to be valid” and that there was “no substantial issue of fact regarding the making or existence” of the agreement.
While the dispute will now be dealt with behind closed doors, Herman’s court filings from the past month revealed multiple allegations against the 15-time major champion.
According to her lawsuit, Herman, 39, is accusing Woods of unlawful eviction and seeking $30 million in compensation. She alleges that despite their 11-year “oral tenancy” deal, Woods kicked her out of his $57 million Palm Beach mansion just after five years, when they broke up in October 2022.
In a submission to the judge, Herman’s lawyers claim that she was told she would be going on a trip to the Bahamas with Woods, “But instead of boarding the plane, Mr. Woods told Ms. Herman to talk to his lawyer, and Mr. Woods left.”
“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,” Herman’s lawyers wrote.
Woods and Herman have been publicly dating since she accompanied him to the Presidents Cup at Liberty National Golf Club in September 2017. She was also by his side when he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Donald Trump in 2018, as well as his 2019 Masters victory.
