The former girlfriend of Tiger Woods has dismissed her lawsuits against the famed golfer and the trust that he established for his residence in Florida, saying she was ”never a victim of sexual harassment or sexual abuse at the hands of Tiger Woods” even though court filings on her behalf said otherwise.
Erica Herman dismissed her lawsuits with prejudice – one against Woods himself and one against the trust claiming she was kicked out of his house in violation of an oral tenancy agreement to stay there for several more years. She claimed $30 million in damages because of it and later filed a suit against Woods himself over a disputed non-disclosure agreement between the former lovers.
“Erica Herman states that she was never a victim of sexual harassment or sexual abuse at the hands of Tiger Woods or any of his agents and it is her position that she never asserted a claim for such,” said her voluntary dismissal notice filed recently. “All parties shall bear their own fees and costs.”
It’s not clear if this new statement of hers and her dismissals of the lawsuits are part of a settlement with Woods. Her attorney, Benjamin Hodas, didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.
Where did the sexual harassment allegations come from?
Previous court documents from Hodas, filed on Herman’s behalf, accused Woods of sexual harassment. For example, in a document filed in May, entitled “plaintiff’s response,” it went into detail about Woods’ alleged sexual harassment against Herman, the plaintiff.
“When the sexual relationship ended, she was kicked out of her home.,” the document said. “Mr. Woods does not own the house; it is owned by a trust. Ms. Herman had a tenancy agreement with the trust. That agreement was broken, and Mr. Woods and his agents have taken the position that this happened because of the end of the sexual relationship between Ms. Herman and Mr. Woods. In other words, the landlord made the availability of her housing conditional on her having sexual relationship with a co-tenant. That conduct amounts to sexual harassment under federal and Florida fair housing laws.”
What else did the documents say?
The same filing from May noted Woods was Herman’s boss at a restaurant in Florida.
“On Mr. Woods’s own portrayal of events, he imposed an NDA on her as a condition to keep her job when she began having a sexual relationship with him,” the filing states. “A boss imposing different work conditions on his employee because of their sexual relationship is sexual harassment.”
A Florida judge in May threw out her lawsuit against Woods, sending it to private arbitration pursuant to the disputed NDA. Herman appealed that ruling with a 53-page document in September that said the trial court “incorrectly applied recent federal statutory law that prohibits compelled arbitration of disputes that relate to sexual harassment, as this dispute does.”
Herman’s dismissal gives up her appeal and her related action against the trust. Woods’ attorney denied there was an oral tenancy agreement or harassment and described Herman as a ‘jilted’ ex-girlfriend.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
