Tiger Woods’ ex-girlfriend Erica Herman sued the golf legend’s trust for $30 million nearly five months prior to filing a request to break her NDA.
The entrepreneur, 39, alleged in court documents obtained Wednesday that Woods, 47, and his agents unlawfully locked her out of their shared Florida home and she has not been allowed her to return since.
She claims in the October 2022 filing she had an “oral tenancy agreement” that gave her the right to reside in the Hobe Sound, Fla., estate for a “certain duration of time.”
According to Herman, the agreement was in place for six years — the duration of her relationship with Woods.
She also claims that part of the deal was that the residence would be “fully paid” by Woods’ Jupiter Island Irrevocable Homestead Trust.
Herman claims, per the court documents, that she was dubiously forced out of the home via “trickery.”
She notes that Woods’ agents allegedly convinced her 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.”
“They then informed her she was not allowed to return to her residence,” the documents also state before further alleging the ex-girlfriend was confronted by attorneys who attempted to “resolve the wrongdoing they were in the midst of committing.”
Herman claims Woods’ agents attempted to “justify their illegal conduct” by paying for a hotel room and certain expenses for a short period of time.
But the former restaurant manager allegedly demanded that she wanted to go back into the home.
Herman also claims the trust allegedly misappropriated an excess of $40,000 in cash that belonged to her. However, she is seeking $30 million in damages, given the “substantial monthly rental value” of the home.
A few weeks after the filing, Woods filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
The pro-athlete’s attorneys claim in the November 2022 petition that Herman is not a “tenant” according to the Residential Landlord Tenant Act.
They also argue that Herman filed a lawsuit against the wrong party since she sued the trust and not the trustee, which is Woods, and that any “contractual claim on the alleged oral tenancy agreement would be barred by the statute of frauds.”
The latest update in the case, according to the docket, is that Herman filed an opposition to Woods’ dismissal motion in January and the lawsuit is ongoing.
Her response was proceeded by a separate request filed on Monday, in which she asked the court whether her NDA with Woods could be deemed not “enforceable” due to alleged sexual harassment or assault claims. She has not yet detailed the allegations.
Reps and attorneys for both Woods and Herman could not immediately be reached for comment.
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