Golf-Woods’ ex-girlfriend asks judge to nullify a non-disclosure agreement
FILE PHOTO: Tennis — U.S. Open — Flushing Meadows, New York, United States — August 31, 2022 Golfer Tiger Woods in the stand before the second round match between Serena Williams of the U.S. and Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo
(Reuters) — Tiger Woods’ former girlfriend Erica Herman has asked a judge to nullify a non-disclosure agreement she signed when the couple began dating in 2017, citing a recent law that limits enforcing such agreements in sexual harassment and assault cases.
In a civil complaint filed on Monday in a Florida state court in Martin County, Herman said she believes the agreement is «invalid and unenforceable,» according to her lawsuit. She did not accuse Woods specifically of harassment or assault in court papers.
«Because of the aggressive use of the Woods NDA against her by the defendant and the trust under his control, the plaintiff is unsure whether she may disclose, among other things, facts giving rise to various legal claims she believes she has,» it added.
A spokesman for Woods did not immediately respond on Wednesday to a request for comment.
The complaint cited the Speak Out Act, a federal law signed by President Joe Biden in December 2022 that limits the enforcement of NDAs in cases of sexual harassment and assault.
In a cover sheet accompanying the complaint, her lawyer Benjamin Hodas checked «yes» as to whether the case involved allegations of sexual abuse. The cover sheet did not say who such allegations might concern.
Hodas did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Woods and Herman have not recently addressed the status of their relationship. The two have not been seen publicly together since August when they attended the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York.