Florida judge rules for Tiger Woods over NDA dispute against ex-girlfriend – media
5:02 am Thursday, May 18th, 2023
(Adds dropped word “not” in paragraph 7)
(Reuters) – A Florida judge ruled in favor of Tiger Woods on Wednesday, rejecting his former girlfriend Erica Herman’s request to nullify a non-disclosure agreement she signed when they began dating in 2017, U.S. media reported, citing court documents.
Herman had asked a judge to void the agreement, citing a recent law that limits enforcing such agreements in sexual harassment and assault cases.
Herman had not accused Woods of harassment or assault in court papers. However, in a cover sheet accompanying the complaint, her lawyer Benjamin Hodas checked “yes” as to whether the case involved allegations of sexual abuse.
She had also claimed that “because of the aggressive use of the Woods NDA against her,” she was unsure whether she may disclose, among other things, facts giving rise to legal claims she believes she has.
In Wednesday’s ruling, Circuit Judge Elizabeth Metzger said that Herman’s claims had been “implausibly pled,” granting Woods’ requests to compel arbitration, the New York Times reported.
The judge wrote that Herman could have provided factual specificity for any claim relating to sexual assault or sexual harassment, but “she has not done so,” according to the newspaper.
A lawyer for Herman could not be immediately reached, while an agent for Woods did not respond to an email request for comment outside regular business hours.
(This story has been refiled to add a dropped word in paragraph 7)
(Reporting by Mrinmay Dey and Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
