Erica Herman, the one-time partner of Tiger Woods, has dropped a claim in which she accused the 15-time major champion of sexual assault.
Herman, who filed the claim against Woods shortly after their relationship ended at the beginning of this year, dropped the lawsuit earlier this week, ending a six-month legal battle.
At the heart of Herman’s legal case was a non-disclosure agreement she signed at the beginning of her relationship with Woods in 2017. Herman and Woods met at Woods’ restaurant in Jupiter, Fla., where Herman was an employee. Under a law called the “Speak Out Act,” NDAs may be voided in instances of sexual assault or harassment. Herman and her lawyer argued the non-disclosure agreement was unenforceable because the status of Herman’s employment hinged upon her accepting Woods’ NDA, and therefore represented an act of sexual harassment in the workplace.
According to Fox News, Herman recanted her claims, writing in a letter to the court 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 she never asserted a claim for such.”
The letter comes after circuit Judge Elizabeth Metzger expressed skepticism about Herman’s interpretation of the NDA, calling her allegations “vague and threadbare” in an 11-page opinion rejecting her initial request to void the NDA.
“Herman has had the opportunity [to] provide factual specificity for any claim relating to sexual assault or sexual harassment, however, she has not done so,” Metzger wrote.
According to the lawsuit, Herman and Woods first met in 2016 and dated through the end of 2022. The couple split at the beginning of this year, and Herman’s lawsuits followed shortly after. In addition to the NDA claim, Herman also dropped a separate lawsuit for $30 million against the trust that owns Woods’ $54 million Jupiter Island mansion.
