Tiger Woods may not receive very many wins on the golf course these days, but he just got his most important one in court this week.
A Florida judge ordered Wednesday that Tiger Woods’ alleged ex-girlfriend Erica Herman must follow the terms of the nondisclosure agreement she allegedly signed and resolve her cases through private arbitration.
Herman’s attempt to overturn the 2017 agreement by alleging sexual harassment by Woods was rejected by Circuit Judge Elizabeth Metzger, who called Herman’s charges “vague and threadbare.”
“Herman has had the opportunity (to) provide factual specificity for any claim relating to sexual assault or sexual harassment, however, she has not done so,” Metzger wrote as part of her 11-page opinion.
Metzger added that if Herman had denied signing the NDA, she would’ve ordered a hearing on the issue. However, since Herman is not sure if she signed it or not, that should be up to a private arbitrator to decide.
Earlier this year, Herman sued Woods and the trust that owns his estate in Florida, seeking $30 million from the latter amid unspecified allegations of sexual harassment. At the time, she cited the Speak Out Act, which “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.”
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Herman claimed that Woods threatened to terminate her from her job at a restaurant if she did not sign the NDA. Hodas stated that treating an employee differently than others because of a sexual relationship is a form of harassment. Metzger informed Hodas that she wanted more information about what allegedly occurred before she could examine it. Hodas stated that he could not disclose any additional information for fear of violating the NDA.
Woods’ attorney J.B. Murray called the allegation “utterly meritless.”
