Judge Rejects Tiger Woods’ Ex-Girlfriend Erica Herman’s Bid to End Confidentiality Agreement

A Florida judge said late Wednesday that Tiger Woods’ ex-girlfriend settled a lawsuit seeking millions of dollars from the golfing superstar in a closed private arbitration, abiding by a non-disclosure agreement he allegedly signed. decided that it must.

In an 11-page opinion, Circuit Court Judge Elizabeth Metzger rejected Erica Herrmann’s attempt to void the 2017 agreement, accusing Woods of sexually harassing her. said Herrmann’s allegations were “vague and trite.”

“Herman had the opportunity to provide factual concreteness to any allegations of sexual assault or sexual harassment, but he failed to do so,” Metzger wrote.

Metzger also said evidence indicates that a confidentiality agreement was negotiated between Herrmann and Woods in 2017, but her attorney, Benjamin Houdas, now believes that she did in fact maintain confidentiality. He also said he doubted whether he had signed the contract.

At a hearing on May 9, Hodus acknowledged that Herrmann signed the contract, but said he did not recall seeing it before Woods’ attorneys took it to court.

Metzger said if Herrmann had explicitly denied signing the agreement, he would have ordered a public hearing on the matter. But Herman isn’t sure he signed, so that’s a matter for the arbitrator to decide.

JB Murray, an attorney for Nether Hordus and Woods, immediately responded to an email seeking comment late Wednesday. It is unclear if Hoddas will appeal.

Herman, 39, sued both Woods, 47, and the trust company that owns his $54 million Florida mansion, amid unspecified sexual harassment allegations, and paid the latter $30 million. I was looking for Forbes magazine estimates Woods’ net worth at $1.1 billion.

Herman, who ran a restaurant in Palm Beach County before and during the first few years of Woods’ romantic relationship, said the new federation, which has stipulated that non-disclosure agreements can be voided in the event of sexual abuse or harassment, is subject to change. It argues that non-disclosure agreements are not enforceable under the law.

In court documents, she claimed that Woods threatened to fire her if she did not sign a non-disclosure agreement. Hodus argued it was a form of harassment, treating one employee differently from another because of a sexual relationship.

But sexual harassment allegations were barely mentioned at last week’s hearings. Metzger told Houdas he needed more information about what allegedly happened. Hoddas said he could not provide any more information publicly out of fear that he would be in breach of the non-disclosure agreement if it was ultimately upheld.

Murray called the allegations “absolutely baseless.”

In her lawsuit against Woods, Herrmann asked Metzger to void the non-disclosure agreement or at least give him guidance on what he could say publicly. She also claimed that the deal covered only her business relationship with Woods and not her personal affairs.

In a wrongful eviction lawsuit against the trust, she bases her $30 million claim on properties such as Woods’ seaside mansion north of Palm Beach for six years of residence the golfer and Woods allegedly promised. based on how much it costs to borrow She then denied it.

Before dating, in 2014, Woods hired Herrmann to help develop and run The Woods, a golfers’ sports bar and restaurant near Jupiter, but a romantic relationship and cohabitation began. disagreement.

Herman said in court filings that their relationship began in 2015 and that they moved into Woods’ 2,800-square-foot mansion in the gorgeous Hove Sound community in late 2016. She said she verbally promised Woods in 2017 that she could live there for at least 11 more years. Herman said she was pressured by Woods to quit her job in 2020 so she could spend more time caring for him and her child.

Woods said in court documents that their relationship began in 2017 and that she moved in with him in August of the same year around the time the disputed non-disclosure agreement was signed. In March 2017, Woods placed her mansion in the Jupiter Island Irrevocable Homestead Trust. The trust was founded by him, and the only beneficiaries were him and his two children.

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