Tiger Woods Asks Court Not to Invalidate NDA With Ex-Girlfriend Erica Herman
On Monday, Tiger Woods responded to his ex-girlfriend Erica Herman in the Circuit Court of Martin County, where he asked the court not to invalidate an NDA and to compel arbitration of any outstanding matters between Herman and Woods, according to a court filing obtained by Sports Illustrated.
Woods is responding to a complaint filed by Herman on March 6 asking for the court to invalidate the NDA and the arbitration clause under two newly passed federal statutes, the federal Speak Out Act and the federal Ending Forced Arbitration Act.
Both acts require an accusation of sexual assault or sexual harassment to nullify the NDA or avoid arbitration.
In her initial complaint, Herman did not allege any sexual assault or sexual harassment by Woods or anyone else associated with Woods, a point that Woods makes in his answer to the complaint.
“Try as it might, this Court will not find a single reference to an allegation of sexual harassment or sexual assault—or even a reference to any Federal, Tribal, or State law relating to sexual harassment or sexual assault—when reading Ms. Herman’s Complaint,” Woods stated in his answer.
Woods went on to state that Herman is a not a victim of sexual assault or abuse sought to be protected by Congress when enacting the statute. Rather, Herman is a jilted ex-girlfriend who wants to publicly litigate specious claims in court, rather than honor her commitment to arbitrate disputes in a confidential arbitration proceeding.
Woods split with Herman in October 2022 after a six-year relationship.
Neither counsel for Herman or Woods returned SI’s request for comments on the ongoing litigation.