The legal drama between the golfer and his ex continues to rage in the courts and the press.
Tiger Woods' lawyers are pushing back against recent claims made by the golfer's ex-girlfriend, Erica Herman, in a recent lawsuit she filed seeking to nullify a non-disclosure agreement.
According to legal documents, obtained by ET, Herman filed the lawsuit against Woods last week in the Circuit Court of the 19th Judicial Circuit in Martin County, Florida, and cited the Speak Out Act as the reason the NDA should be voided, as the act protects victims of sexual assault or harassment.
In new court documents filed by Christopher J. Hubman, an attorney for Woods -- and his Jupiter Island Irrevocable Homestead Trust -- which were filed on Monday and obtained by ET, Woods' legal counsel claims that Herman is "not a victim of sexual assault or abuse."
The documents allege that 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."
In the documents she filed last week, Herman checked the box "yes" when asked, "Does this case involve allegations of sexual abuse?" While she did not offer any specifics about the allegations, Herman says nullifying the NDA will clear things up for her.
Herman also filed a lawsuit last October against Wood's Jupiter Island Irrevocable Homestead Trust claiming that the golfer violated an "oral tenancy agreement," ensuring her she could live at his Florida mansion for a total of 11 years. In her legal filings, Herman claimed she still had five years remaining when they split up in October and, as such, is entitled to compensation of roughly $30 million.
Woods' lawyers argued in a subsequent filing that, during their relationship, "Mr. Woods invited Ms. Herman to live with him as his guest in the Residence. Mr. Woods never negotiated an oral tenancy agreement with Ms. Herman. Nor was there ever a written tenancy agreement between Mr. Woods or the Trust."
Woods' lawyers say that on Oct. 22, 2022, he "notified Ms. Herman that he was breaking off their relationship." After ending things, Woods then arranged for Herman "to stay at a local luxury resort," and Woods "provided funds she could apply toward a new residence."
As for why she sued the trust instead of Woods himself, his lawyers argued that her decision to sue the trust rather than Woods "is nothing more than a transparent attempt by Ms. Herman to avoid her contractual obligation to arbitrate and to gain leverage by litigating her disputes with Mr. Woods in a public forum."
In other words, they claim she's trying to bypass the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) she signed at the beginning of their relationship in August 2017 when they started dating. Woods' lawyers are adamant the NDA she signed is legally binding and any legal disputes should be settled out of court.
In Woods' latest legal filing, his lawyers claim that Herman's attempt to have the NDA nullified is "utterly meritless."
"Herman has never asserted any claims for sexual assault or sexual harassment, does not do so in this landlord-tenant filing, and if she is truthful, can never do so," the documents argue. "Ms. Herman’s bare reference to the statute, without any allegations to support its application to the facts of this case, is insufficient to relieve Ms. Herman from her contractual obligation to arbitrate."
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, 14, and son Charlie, 13) before a cheating scandal torpedoed the marriage, which ended in divorce in 2010.
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