Florida Judge Rules in Favor of Tiger Woods in $30 Million Lawsuit

Tiger Woods came away with a win late Wednesday in the $30 million lawsuit against him from ex-girlfriend Erica Herman, as a Florida judge ruled she must abide by a nondisclosure agreement she purportedly signed in 2017. 

Herman must now resolve her lawsuits against the golf star through private arbitration, reports the Associated Press. Herman attempted to nullify her NDA through a new federal law that says such contracts can be voided in the event of sexual abuse or sexual harassment, but Florida Circut Judge Elizabeth Metzger called her sexual harassment allegations against Woods “vague and threadbare.” 

Woods, who has a net worth of $1.1 billion per Forbes, hired Herman in 2014 to develop and operate his The Woods sports bar and restaurant in Jupiter, Fl. Woods and Herman later started a romantic relationship, and Herman alleged that Woods threatened to fire her if she did not sign an NDA. 

Herman’s attorney Benjamin Hodas argued that it is harassment, treating one employee differently from others because they have a sexual relationship. Judge Metzger said Hodas needed to provide more information about the harassment that allegedly happened, but Hodas said he could not provide more details publicly out of fear of breaking the nondisclosure agreement. 

“Herman has had the opportunity [to] provide factual specificity for any claim relating to sexual assault or sexual harassment, however, she has not done so,” Metzger wrote in an 11-page court opinion.