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FILE–Erica Herman and Tiger Woods at the 2022 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 31, 2022. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP
Tiger Woods’ ex-girlfriend filed a lawsuit seeking to be released from a nondisclosure agreement she says the golf superstar made a mark at the beginning of their relationship in 2017, court filings showed Wednesday.
Erica Herman, who lives with the 15-time major winner in the Florida mansion until the end of 2022, filed the request in the Circuit Court of the 19th Judicial Circuit in Martin County, Florida.
According to court records seen by AFP, Herman’s lawyers argued that the NDA he had to sign was “illegal and unenforceable” under a US federal law known as the Speak Out Act.
The law, which became effective last year in the wake of the MeToo movement, makes nondisclosure agreements unenforceable in cases involving sexual assault and harassment.
Herman’s case filing did not go into further detail and did not include any specific allegations against Woods.
But in response to a question about a court filing that read “Does this case involve allegations of sexual harassment?” Attorney Herman has checked the box marked “Yes”.
Herman’s bid to renege on his NDA agreement marks an escalation of a legal dispute with Woods that began last October, but has gone largely unreported in the US media.
In court filings also seen by AFP, Herman’s lawyers have sued the Jupiter Island Irrevocable Homestead Trust, which is the legal entity that owns the Woods’ home in Florida.
Herman’s suit alleges that an “agent” for Woods tricked him into leaving the mansion last year by telling him to prepare for a vacation.
“By trickery, the agent of the defendant (Woods) convinced the plaintiff (Herman) to pack his suitcase for a short vacation and, when he arrived at the airport, he told him that he had been locked out of his house,” the court filing. said.
Herman’s lawyers claim Woods breached the “oral tenancy agreement” that allowed him to live in the mansion – reportedly worth $54 million – and are demanding damages.
The legal dispute threatens to drag Woods’ personal life back into the media spotlight, 14 years after the sex scandal that nearly destroyed his career and shocked the sports world.
Woods squeaky clean image imploded in 2009 after revelations of various infidelities, leading to divorce from his first wife Elin Nordegren in 2010.
Since the scandal, Woods has slowly rebuilt his career, winning the Masters in 2019 to complete his fairytale comeback after years of injuries and multiple surgeries.
He faced a new setback in 2021 when he suffered a serious accident in California, putting his playing career on hold before returning to major championship golf last year at the Masters.
The golf icon is not playing in this week’s Players Championship in Florida but is on record as saying he hopes to play in April’s Masters at Augusta.
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