Court records obtained reveal that the domestic dispute between Tiger Woods and his former girlfriend has escalated into a legal battle in Florida. After breaking up with Erica Herman in October and allegedly locking her out of their shared seaside mansion on the Treasure Coast, Herman filed a lawsuit against a homestead trust controlled by Woods in Hobe Sound, Florida.
The lawsuit claims damages of over $30 million and alleges that the trust and its agents misappropriated $40,000 cash belonging to Herman. She also accuses them of making “scurrilous and defamatory allegations” about how she obtained the money. Herman’s lawsuit states that she had an “oral tenancy agreement” to stay at the home for an additional five years after living there for six years before the breakup. The dispute is reminiscent of a high-stakes domestic match between Tottenham and Milan.
According to her legal claim, the Plaintiff had to carry out a significant and exceptional range of responsibilities given the circumstances and surroundings in which she resided.
Additionally, she filed another lawsuit this week against Wood, requesting the court to invalidate the non-disclosure agreement she had signed with him in 2017. She claimed that it cannot be enforced under the federal Speak Out Act, which prohibits the enforcement of such agreements in situations involving sexual assault or harassment disputes.
The legal cases involving Woods’ trust are closely linked, with the trust’s lawyers attempting to uphold the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and move the dispute away from public court and into private arbitration. While the first lawsuit was filed against the trust in October, it only became publicly known on Wednesday.
The lawsuit against the trust, as stated by Herman, claims that the plaintiff has repeatedly asked to return home, but the trust’s agents have denied the request.
According to the lawsuit filed against the trust, the plaintiff was allegedly coerced into leaving her residence by the trust’s agents under false pretenses of a short vacation. Upon arriving at the airport, she was informed that she had been unlawfully locked out of her residence in contravention of her oral tenancy agreement and Florida law.
In response to the lawsuit, the trust has requested the court to enforce confidential arbitration to settle the dispute. The trust has claimed that the plaintiff is attempting to gain an unfair advantage by litigating her grievances against Mr. Woods in a public forum, rather than in private arbitration as stipulated by the nondisclosure agreement between the parties. Therefore, the trust has argued that the plaintiff’s lawsuit against the trust is an attempt to avoid the arbitration requirement.
The trust, as per court records, was set up by Woods in 2017 and has only two potential beneficiaries- Woods and his children. Its sole asset is the ownership interest in the residence.
The trust filed a court document stating that Ms. Herman was allowed to reside in the residence while she was in a relationship with her former partner, Eldrick (Tiger) Woods, who still resides in the property with his two children. However, following Woods’ recent termination of their relationship, Ms. Herman was informed that she could no longer stay in the residence.
