Tiger Woods Wins Court Ruling Against Ex Erica Herman As Judge Won't Release Her From NDA

Tiger Woods and his ex-girlfriend Erica Herman will have to settle their dispute in private arbitration as Florida Circuit Judge Elizabeth Metzger ruled in favor of the 15-time major winner on Wednesday. The court ruling is in favor of Woods as Herman now must abide by the NDA she signed in 2017.

Herman accused Woods of sexual harassment in a court filing in March and sued both the golfer and the trust that owns his $54 million mansion in Florida. She is seeking $30 million from the trust amid the unspecified allegations of sexual harassment.

Herman alleges that Woods forced her to sign the NDA or else lose her job managing his restaurant in Palm Beach County.

“Mr. Woods was Ms. Herman’s boss,’’ Herman's attorney, Benjamin Hodas wrote in a court filing. “On Mr. Woods’ 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. A boss imposing different work conditions on his employee because of their sexual relationship is sexual harassment.”

Herman's basis for the NDA to be tossed aside was centered around the federal Speak Out Act.

The 39-year-old believed that the NDA is being wrongfully enforced and argued that it should be declared “unenforceable” under the federal act. The act prohibits NDAs from being enforced that were agreed upon before a dispute arises involving sexual harassment and/or sexual assault.

READ: TIGER WOODS DENIES EVER HAVING AN ORAL AGREEMENT WITH EX-GIRLFRIEND ERICA HERMAN ABOUT LIVING IN HIS MANSION, LAWYER SAYS

In her 11-page opinion, Judge Metzger called Herman's allegations of sexual harassment "vague and threadbare" while explaining that Woods' ex-girlfriend has not provided "factual specificity" for any claims.

Another wrinkle in this centers around whether or not Herman actually signed the NDA.

Hodas conceded that Herman signed the NDA during a May 9 hearing, but claims Woods' team never presented the document in court.

With Herman unsure if she signed it or not, Metzger ruled that this is an issue that must be decided in private arbitration.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and all other happenings in the world of golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.