Tiger Woods' Ex-Girlfriend Abandons Lawsuits

Erica Herman's filing says she never accused golf star of abuse
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 8, 2023 5:25 PM CDT
Updated Nov 16, 2023 6:45 PM CST
Filing: Lawyer Told Woods' Girlfriend It Was Over
Tiger Woods, right, with his daughter Sam Alexis Woods, left, and Erica Herman, center, walk outside the White House after then-President Donald Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Woods in 2019.   (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
UPDATE Nov 16, 2023 6:45 PM CST

Erica Herman has dropped her lawsuits against Tiger Woods, one of which had sought $30 million. Her lawyer filed a brief notice in a Florida court last week saying Herman is voluntarily dismissing the suit against the trust that owns Woods' mansion "with prejudice," which prevents the case from being resurrected later, the AP reports. A lawyer for the golf star's ex-girlfriend had said Woods sexually harassed Herman. He walked that back in the filing. "Erica Herman states that she was never a victim of sexual harassment or sexual abuse at the hands of Tiger Woods or any of his agents and it is her position that she has never asserted such a claim," Benjamin Hodas wrote. Another suit against Woods was rejected by a judge in May, and Herman's appeal of that decision was dropped this week.

May 8, 2023 5:25 PM CDT

A $30 million legal battle between Tiger Woods and his ex-girlfriend has escalated, with Erica Herman accusing the golf superstar of beginning their sexual relationship when she was his employee and threatening to fire her if she didn't sign a nondisclosure agreement she now wants voided. Herman, in court documents filed late Friday, also accused Woods of having his lawyer break up with her at an airport in October after falsely telling her they were going on a weekend trip. The lawyer then evicted her from Woods' $54 million mansion north of Palm Beach, the AP reports.

The documents were filed in advance of a scheduled Tuesday hearing in which Woods' attorneys are expected to ask Circuit Judge Elizabeth Metzger to halt Herman's lawsuit against their billionaire client. They say the former couple's nondisclosure agreement requires all disputes be settled privately by an arbitrator, not in court. Herman, who managed Woods' Palm Beach County restaurant before and during the first years of their romantic relationship, argues that the nondisclosure agreement is unenforceable under a new federal law that says such contracts can be voided when sexual abuse or sexual harassment occurred. Her attorney, Benjamin Hodas, contends that Woods' alleged threat to fire her if she didn't sign the contract was harassment. Woods' attorney, JB Murray, denies that the 47-year-old golfer ever sexually assaulted or harassed Herman.

story continues below

"A boss imposing different work conditions on his employee because of their sexual relationship is sexual harassment," Hodas said. Herman, 39, is separately suing the trust that owns Woods' mansion for $30 million, saying he verbally promised in 2017 that she could live there for at least 11 years, but kicked her out after five. Herman says Woods evicted her through "trickery." She says Woods told her they were going on a weekend trip to the Bahamas, so she packed a small bag and he drove her to the airport, where they parked near a private plane. But instead of boarding, Woods told Herman to talk to his lawyer and left, she says.

(More Tiger Woods stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X