Golf great Tiger Woods is finally responding to claims by ex-girlfriend Erica Herman’s accusation of sexual abuse saying that she is not a victim, just a “jilted ex-girlfriend.”
The bizarre breakup continues to roil the two in acrimony as Herman seeks to sue Woods on a multitude of claims, including that he tricked her into leaving her apartment — which was owned by Woods — so he could evict her and that he sexually abused her during the relationship.
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Woods has now filed his own court papers on Monday in response to Herman’s lawsuit which seeks to invalidate the non-disclosure agreement she signed with Woods’ legal team when they started going out. Herman claims that the federal “Speak Out Act” makes the NDA unenforceable because she is making vague claims that he abused her and according to the law, an NDA cannot paper over abuse, according to TMZ.
As far as Woods is concerned, since there are no clear accusations of abuse in any of Herman’s filings, he thinks the court should deny her request to nullify the NDA. Woods pointed out that in her $30 million suit, Herman actually checked “no” on the paperwork asking, “does this case involve allegations of sexual abuse?”
Woods further claimed that the whole episode is just Herman’s attempt to litigate her claims in public
“Ms. Herman’s position is utterly meritless,” Woods said. “It is a transparent abuse of the judicial process that undermines the purpose of the federal statute and those whom the statute seeks to protect.”
Woods said the court should deny Herman’s request to invalidate the NDA.
Herman filed her lawsuit last week alleging that Woods and his people “tricked” her into leaving her home by telling her to get ready for a vacation.
“By trickery, agents of the defendant (Woods) convinced the plaintiff (Herman) to pack a suitcase for a short vacation and, when she arrived at the airport, they told her she had been locked out of her residence,” the filing said. She also wants the court to cancel the NDA.
Herman also claims that Woods’ employees gathered her personal belongings at the property along with $40,000 in cash. She also says that Woods made “scurrilous and defamatory allegations about how she obtained the money.”
Tiger Woods and Erica Herman ride in a cart before the Pro-Am ahead of the PNC Championship at the Ritz Carlton Golf Club Grande Lakes on December 17, 2021, in Orlando, Florida. (Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
Herman’s suit was not filed against Woods personally but instead against Woods’ trust. That, Woods’ team claims, is an end run around the NDA.
“By suing the Trust rather than Mr. Woods, Ms. Herman seeks to evade her obligation to adjudicate her claims in a confidential arbitration and, instead, seeks to gain leverage by litigating her disputes with Mr. Woods in a public forum,” Woods’ attorneys said in October.
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