Tiger Woods is facing a lawsuit from his ex-girlfriend Erica Herman, and the 15-time major champion has responded to some of the claims.
Herman filed a landlord complaint against Woods last October. In it, she claimed she and Woods had an oral agreement that she would be able to live in Tiger’s mansion in Hobe Sound, Fla., for a total of 11 years. Herman says Woods broke up with her several months ago and then used “trickery” to get her to leave the home.
Herman claims people working on behalf of Woods’ trust convinced her to “pack a suitcase for a short vacation” and then informed her at the airport that she no longer has access to Tiger’s home. Herman alleges that Woods paid for a “hotel room and certain expenses for a short period of time” and “frightened her away from returning” to the property.” She is seeking $30 million.
According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Woods’ lawyers have responded to the claim. They say there was no agreement between Tiger and Herman for any finite period of time Herman was supposed to live at the Florida mansion.
“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,” Woods’ lawyers wrote. “Nor was there ever a written tenancy agreement between Mr. Woods or the Trust, on the one hand, and Ms. Herman, on the other hand. Mr. Woods never transferred to Ms. Herman any ownership interest in or rights of possession to the Residence.”
Tiger’s lawyers also denied the claim about Herman being locked out, saying Woods put Herman up in a luxury residence after the two split and gave her enough money for a new residence.
In a separate lawsuit, Herman is seeking to be removed from a non-disclosure agreement she signed when she began dating Tiger in 2017. Herman argues that the NDA should no longer be enforceable because of the federal Speak Out Act, which was put in place to protect victims of sexual assault and sexual harassment. No specific allegation of sexual assault or harassment was made against Woods.
Woods’ legal team issued a formal response to that lawsuit on Monday morning, according to TMZ. They called it an abuse of the legal process since no allegation of sexual assault, abuse or harassment was made.
“Ms. Herman’s position is utterly meritless. 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,” the documents state.
According to Tiger’s lawyers, Herman checked the box for “NO” when asked “does this case involve allegations of sexual abuse” in the previous lawsuit she filed claiming Woods kicked her out of his home.
Herman and Woods went public with their relationship in 2017. Herman seemed close with Tiger’s family for a while and was seen supporting him during big events.
