The way Tiger Woods ends relationships might be close to Machiavellian if you believe the way he allegedly canceled his last girlfriend. On Friday, the attorney for Erica Herman, the ex-girlfriend of Tiger Woods, filed a document in court that gave new details about how she claims Woods decided to break up with her in October.
She avers that Woods tricked her into being kicked out of his house, which she believes is relevant to her ongoing court dispute in Florida. Although there is a non-disclosure agreement that Woods and Herman signed in 2017, which has prompted him to steer the issue to private arbitration, Herman wants the court to deem the NDA invalid and, therefore, unenforceable.
She claims that in her former status as an employee for his Jupiter, Florida-based restaurant, The Woods Jupiter, she was subjected to sexual harassment by the famous golfer. Also, her filing claims Woods did not try to take their breakup to private arbitration as designated by the NDA when he gave her the walking papers out of his house in October. However, he allegedly had a more dramatic way of dealing with his problems, reminiscent of a popular cable television show about a Hollywood problem-fixer.
Ray Donovan With A Pen
“Instead, he called a California attorney — who promotes himself as ‘Ray Donovan with a pen’ — to unceremoniously eject Ms. Herman from the house through trickery and break up with her for him,” the document filed Friday by Herman’s attorney Benjamin Hodas said.
“The scheme involved convincing Ms. Herman to pack for a weekend excursion to the Bahamas. She and Mr. Woods often traveled on short notice for quick getaways, and she was told this would be another such trip. So, she took a minimum of items, expecting to return home in a few days.”
Then the shenanigans got interesting as Woods alledgedly pulled off a finesse to eliminate Herman’s presence from his home.
Per Herman’s filing, Woods drove them to the airport, where a private plane awaited. However, instead of boarding the plane, she claims that Woods told her to talk to his lawyer and left.
Ouch.
Herman Feels She Was Done Dirty
“Then, Mr. Woods’s California lawyer, out of the blue, told her that she was not going anywhere, would never see Mr. Woods again, had been locked out of the house, and could not return,” the filing continued. “She would not even be able to see the children or her pets again. While still in the hangar, ‘Ray Donovan with a pen’ proceeded to insult Ms. Herman, [advised] her she had no legal rights, and [tried] to force her to agree to a [different] non-disclosure and arbitration agreement.”
Herman refused to sign per the filing, calling the action “brutish and high-pressure tactics.” Herman’s lawsuits are against Woods and a trust established for his Treasure Coast of Florida residence. She claims $30 million in damages after being ousted from the home in violation of an oral tenancy agreement. Woods’ attorney denied such an agreement exists, labeling Herman a “jilted” ex-girlfriend.
Key to the filing is that Herman believes if Woods wanted to abide by the original NDA she signed with Woods, then he would have invoked the private arbitration instead of creating a fake trip to lure her out of the house.
“Importantly, neither Mr. Woods, nor his lawyer, nor any of his other agents invoked some pre-existing arbitration agreement that day as they ejected Ms. Herman from the house and took away her personal property and pets,” the filing says.
Woods wanted to break up and possibly finesse his employee-turned-girlfriend out of his home. Now facts and fiction will collide as the courts determine if he acted outside the parameters of the law or if she is grasping at straws.
