Herman, who managed Woods' Palm Beach County restaurant before and during the first years of their romantic relationship, argues that the nondisclosure agreement is unenforceable under a new federal law that says such contracts can be voided when sexual abuse or sexual harassment occurred. Her attorney, Benjamin Hodas, contends that Woods' alleged threat to fire her if she didn't sign the contract was harassment.
Woods' attorney, J.B. Murray, denies that the 47-year-old golfer ever sexually assaulted or harassed Herman, calling her accusations in court documents, “utterly meritless.”It is unknown if Woods will attend Tuesday's hearing. When Hodas filed her lawsuit against the trust in October, he checked a box on a standardized form saying the case did not involve sexual abuse. In Herman’s March lawsuit against Woods, Hodas checked the box saying that case does involve abuse. Hodas has not explained the apparent discrepancy.
Woods, in his court documents, says their romantic relationship began in 2017, shortly before she moved in with him that August — about the time the nondisclosure agreement was signed. In March 2017, Woods had placed the mansion into the Jupiter Island Irrevocable Homestead Trust, an entity he created that has only himself and his two children as beneficiaries. Forbes Magazine estimates Woods' net worth at $1.1 billion.
Herman says Woods evicted her through “trickery.” She says Woods told her they were going on a weekend trip to the Bahamas, so she packed a small bag and he drove her to the airport, where they parked near a private plane.“Out of the blue,” the lawyer told her the relationship was over and that she was being evicted, she says. She says she refused to sign another nondisclosure agreement the lawyer tried to force upon her.