Tiger Woods‘ ex, Erica Herman, is walking back the sexual assault allegation she made against the golf pro in an effort to nullify the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) she says she signed when she started dating him more than six years ago.
In new court documents obtained by ET, Herman filed a notice in Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal stating she’s dropping her appeal to nullify the NDA while also stating “that she was never a victim of sexual harassment or sexual abuse at the hands of Tiger Woods or any of his agents.”
ET has reached out to reps for Woods and Herman.
Herman had previously appealed a Florida judge’s ruling in May, in which the judge ruled her attempt to claim sexual harassment against Woods as she sought to nullify the NDA was vague and lacked “factual specificity for any claim relating to sexual assault or sexual harassment.”
Fast forward to now, Herman’s dropping the appeal and walking back the sexual assault allegation she claimed as part of a lawsuit she first filed in October 2022. She made the sexual assault claim in court documents she filed in May, when she checked the box “yes” when asked, “Does this case involve allegations of sexual abuse?” In those court documents, Herman cited the Speak Out Act as the reason the NDA should be voided, as the act protects victims of sexual assault or harassment.
The Speak Out Act was introduced to the floor of Congress in July 2022 and passed into law less than five months later. The act “prohibits the judicial enforceability of a nondisclosure clause or nondisparagement clause agreed to before a dispute arises involving sexual assault or sexual harassment in violation of federal, tribal, or state law.”
Herman’s appeal drop comes nearly four months after she dropped her lawsuit against the 15-time majors champion’s trust seeking $30 million in damages, claiming she was entitled to roughly that amount in compensation after Woods’ agents removed her belongings and “misappropriated in excess of $40,000 in cash” following their breakup.
After the relationship went sour, she sued Woods’ trust in October 2022 claiming that “agents” of Woods used “trickery” to get her to leave the home for a “short vacation,” only to then lock her out of the home they shared.
Herman claimed in the suit they had an “oral agreement” that ensured she could live at his mansion for a total of 11 years, and that she still had five years remaining when they split up. Woods’ legal team later denied in court that Woods had “oral tenancy agreement” with Herman.
As for the sexual assault allegation, Woods’ legal team stated in court documents that Herman is “not a victim of sexual assault or abuse,” and labeled her as “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.”
Herman, a former manager at one of Woods’ restaurants, first started dating the golfer in August 2017. The following month, she was seen wearing a girlfriend/wife badge while flanking the golf pro at the Presidents Cup at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey. They broke up in October 2022 after Woods, according to court documents, “notified Ms. Herman that he was breaking off their relationship.” After Woods ended things, his lawyers claimed he arranged for Herman to “stay at a local luxury resort,” and Woods “provided funds she could apply towards a new residence.”
Woods was previously linked to Lindsey Vonn before they split in 2015, and he was married to model Elin Nordegren for six years (they share two children — daughter Sam, 16, and son Charlie, 14) before a cheating scandal torpedoed the marriage, which ended in divorce in 2010.
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