Florida: Tiger Woods won a courtroom fight with his ex-girlfriend Erica Herman, who seeks to invalidate their 2017 non-disclosure agreement so she can speak publicly about her relationship with the golf star that ended acrimoniously last October.
A Florida judge ruled Wednesday that Herman's efforts to nullify the NDA must proceed behind closed doors in arbitration, not in the public eye in Martin County Circuit Court. Herman sued there in March, claiming the agreement is invalid under the Ending Forced Arbitration Of Sexual Assault And Sexual Harassment Act of 2021, known as the EFFA, and the Speak Out Act of 2022.
But Judge Elizabeth Metzger ruled that "there is no substantial issue of fact regarding the making or existence of the NDA." The agreement "contains an arbitration clause," despite attempts by Herman's lawyer to dispute that, the judge said.
Under the EFFA, a judge could rule that arbitration doesn't apply in disputes involving sexual harassment. But Metzger said Herman hadn't met her legal burden, making only "vague and threadbare references to behaviors or actions she contends constitute sexual harassment."
While Herman had a chance to "provide factual specificity for any claim relating to sexual assault or sexual harassment," she failed to do so, according to the ruling. As such, "Herman's implausibly pled claims do not permit this court to find that the EFFA is applicable."
The judge put the lawsuit on hold pending the completion of arbitration and ordered the parties to advise her when it's done.
Lawyers for Woods and Herman didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
Herman's lawyer didn't contest that she'd signed the NDA or that she agreed arbitrate any disputes with Woods. The judge said she was unpersuaded by attempts by Herman's lawyer to "equivocally allege" that she can't remember "for certain" whether she signed the agreement.
$30 million claim
Metzger ruled on a case that followed another one Herman filed last October. Herman sought more than $30 million after Woods broke off their relationship. The litigation cast Woods in an unflattering light. She claimed she worked for Woods, began a romance with him, and moved into his house in 2016.
She claimed that in October 2022, she was told she would take a quick trip with Woods. But when she got to the airport, Woods's lawyer said their relationship was over and she was locked out of the house. She claimed that violated an "oral tenancy agreement" that gave her the right to live there, and she had performed "valuable services" under an agreement that had five years remaining.
She previously worked at The Woods Jupiter, a restaurant backed by the golfer that describes itself as an "elevated sports bar" and serves an eponymous burger made with Florida Wagyu beef.
She accompanied Woods during tournaments including his 15th major victory at The Masters in Augusta, Georgia, in 2019.
Considered one of the greatest golfers of all time, Woods sustained severe injuries in a 2021 car crash that has hampered his tournament play. He appeared in the Masters Tournament in April and underwent ankle surgery after that.
