Former girlfriend of Tiger Woods filed a 53 page brief with a Florida appeals court to try and revive her lawsuit against him, after the judge dismissed it in May.
The document was presented by Erica Herman’s attorney, who claimed that the trial judge erred in deciding to move the dispute from public court into private arbitration.
Herman’s attorney also reiterates that Herman was sexually harassed by Woods, the famous golfer, and should not have been forced to settle the dispute through private arbitration. Herman’s lawyer cites the recently passed federal law which invalidates nondisclosure agreements and forces arbitration in cases of sexual harassment or assault.
Benjamin Hodas, an attorney, stated that “Congress passed the Ending Forced arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment act 2021 to prevent a Plaintiff like Ms. Herman being forced to arbitrate by her former boss or sexual partner in relation to employment and sexual relationships.”
Tiger Woods and Erica Herman at the 2022 U.S. Open between Serena Williams vs. Anett Kontaveit, at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center New York City. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images).
What’s the problem with Tiger Woods?
Herman had previously claimed that Woods had a sexual relationship when she worked for him and forced her to sign an agreement of non-disclosure about it. If she refused, she would be fired.
Herman has denied the validity of this purported NDA, and says she doesn’t remember signing it.
The brief filed recently in Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal states that “no one should be forced to arbitrate without proof of their agreement to arbitrate,” But that’s what happened. The trial court allowed Tiger Woods to force Erica Herman out of court, without even a threshold proof that they had agreed to arbitrate. “The burden for the Appellee was not heavy, but he did not meet it.”
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Herman’s appeal is based on a March lawsuit that she filed against Woods, in which she sought to declare the NDA invalid. She filed a separate suit in October against the Florida trust Woods had established, alleging that she had an oral agreement with him to stay there for about five years, but was locked out in violation of this agreement. In that lawsuit, she claimed damages of more than $30,000,000. She voluntarily suspended it in June to await the outcome of the Woods appeal.
Tiger Woods and Erica Herman, both of the United States, leave the opening ceremony at Le Golf National in Paris on September 27, 2018. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images).
What is Woods response?
His lawyer did not respond to a request for comment. He denied previously that Herman signed an oral lease agreement, and claimed she was “not a sexual abuse or assault victim sought to be protected” by Congress.
He called her a “jilted former girlfriend” who made “specious allegations” in order to pressure Woods who is known for his fierce protection of privacy. He believes that the NDA of 2017 is valid on its face.
Herman’s lawyer disagrees. His appeals were filed after he had asked the trial judge in May to reconsider her decision, but was refused.
Herman’s latest brief says that “neither party acted as if they were bound by the purported agreement” (from 2017). In October 2022, there was a disagreement between Ms. Herman and Mr. Woods about whether or not she could continue to live in the house, and whether their relationship continued. Mr. Woods didn’t take the dispute to arbitration. He used trickery and threats instead to get Ms. Herman out of the house, steal her pets and personal property, and end up with her.”
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: [email protected]
