Sounds familiar.
Tiger Woods’ former mistress warned that the golf star’s latest ex-girlfriend, Erica Herman, is “up against a machine now” after it was revealed she is embroiled in a nasty legal spat to get out of her non-disclosure agreement.
Rachel Uchitel, who signed her own an NDA with Woods just days after their affair was revealed in 2009, said the legally-binding agreement ruined her life because she was unable to publicly defend herself against attacks.
“It’s not a option to live and it really can damage your life and it’s not definitely worth the money. Ever,” Uchitel, 48, told DailyMail.com.
The nightclub manager-turned-TV personality, who was amongst several women Woods had affairs with during his six-year marriage to Elin Nordegren, says she signed the $8 million NDA to cover up the golfer’s “bad behavior.”
Within the years that followed, Uchitel said she ended up going bankrupt because Woods’ lawyers repeatedly went after her for speaking in regards to the affair and violating the terms of her NDA.
While Uchitel said the news of Herman’s legal fight with Woods “sounds familiar,” she insists their situations are starkly different.
“I fought this alone for over a decade but my circumstances were different,” Uchitel told Us Weekly.
“There’s an enormous difference between [an NDA] signed on the commencement of a relationship for parties to agree not share confidential information, after which the signing of an NDA to cover up bad behavior. The latter can damage your life.”
Herman has been battling Woods in court since October after she sued the golf champ’s trust for allegedly using “trickery” to evict her from his Jupiter, Fla. mansion after their break-up.
She alleges, in court papers obtained by The Post, that she was convinced to “pack a suitcase for a brief vacation and, when she arrived on the airport, they told her she had been locked out of her residence, in violation of the oral tenancy agreement and in violation of Florida law.”
In response, Woods’ legal team argued that Herman needed to resolve “any and all disputes, claims or controversies” via arbitration — and out of doors the court — given the terms of an NDA she signed in August 2017 when the pair began dating.
Then, on Monday, Herman filed fresh court papers in search of to nullify the NDA – citing the Speak Out Act, which allows such agreements to be voided if there’s proof of sexual assault or harassment.
Herman checked “yes” under a matter asking if the case involved “allegations of sexual abuse.” There aren’t any specific allegations of assault or harassment referenced within the filings, the court documents show.
In response to the grievance, she is in search of clarification on what she is legally allowed to reveal publicly about her nearly six-year relationship with the golfing champ.
“Arbitration is where NDAs go to get buried, essentially,” Uchitel told Us Weekly of the present legal battle between Herman and Woods.
“It’s all very quiet and tidy in an arbitration. And nobody gets to listen to about it ever again.”
