Erica Herman, the ex-girlfriend of golf legend Tiger Woods, has dropped her $30 million lawsuit that accused Woods of violating an oral tenancy agreement after their breakup.
According to documents obtained by the New York Post on Tuesday, July 18, Herman, 39, dismissed the case while awaiting the outcome of her appeal regarding a separate lawsuit she filed to invalidate a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) she signed with Woods in 2017. The status of that case is still pending.
In October 2022, Herman initially sued Woods’ trust, which owns his residence, alleging that he breached their oral agreement allowing her to live at his home for a specific duration in exchange for valuable services. She claimed that she was wrongfully locked out of the property with five years remaining on their alleged agreement and sought $30 million as the reasonable rental value for that period.
In response, Woods’ trust filed documents in November 2022 to dismiss Herman’s complaint. They argued that, based on her NDA, any disputes with Woods should be resolved confidentially through arbitration. The trust also denied the existence of the oral tenancy agreement.
Originally scheduled for August, the hearing for Herman’s lawsuit regarding the oral tenancy was canceled following her voluntary dismissal of the case on June 29. The court documents indicated that the dismissal was without prejudice, pending the resolution of her appeal and the determination of whether her claims should be subject to arbitration.
Prior to the dismissal, Herman filed a separate appeal after her lawsuit seeking to nullify the NDA with Woods, citing alleged harassment, was dismissed by a Florida judge in May. The judge deemed the sexual misconduct claims as vague and lacking substantial evidence.
In the earlier filing, Herman claimed that Woods had sexually harassed her in 2014 when she began working at his Florida restaurant and allegedly forced her to sign the NDA under threat of termination. She further alleged that Woods sexually harassed her again in 2022 when he purportedly evicted her from their shared home.
Woods countered Herman’s claims, referring to her as a “jilted ex-girlfriend” who opted for public litigation instead of honoring the commitment to settle disputes through confidential arbitration. He criticized the invocation of the Speak Out Act, which Herman cited in her filing, as an abuse of the judicial process that undermines the purpose of the federal statute.
Woods and Herman dated for five years before their acrimonious split in 2022. The breakup reportedly stemmed from conflicts over time and finances, with Herman believing Woods was frequently absent from home, while Woods felt Herman was spending excessively and leading a lavish lifestyle.
Notably, Woods gained significant media attention in 2009 when his extramarital affairs came to light, leading to his divorce from then-wife Elin Nordegren in 2010. Woods sought treatment for sex addiction following the scandal.