Tiger Woods’ lawyers want OK to go after Rachel Uchitel for future NDA violations
Tiger Woods sicced his lawyers on former mistress Rachel Uchitel in Manhattan court Tuesday — taking aim at the $5 million non-disclosure agreement she signed with the golf great.
Woods’ camp acknowledged that it can’t do anything about Uchitel’s alleged gabbing in the past — but it can sure as heck try to shut her up in the future.
Uchitel — a 46-year-old former nightclub hostess who dated Woods a decade ago while he was still married — revealed Monday that in 2009, she signed the NDA, which was originally worth $8 million and later modified to $5 million.
She claimed Woods’ lawyers have been threatening to go after her for speaking out about their affair — a move that one of the golfer’s attorneys readily confirmed to the judge during Tuesday’s phone hearing for Uchitel’s bankruptcy case.
But Woods’ lawyers admitted to the Manhattan federal bankruptcy judge that they’ve hit a snag.
Uchitel had already been granted a “discharge” in her Chapter 7 bankruptcy case in February, which essentially gave her a “fresh start” from debts and legal claims, her lawyer told The Post.
So while any previous alleged violations of the NDA can’t be pursued legally, Woods’ lawyers asked the judge to reopen her bankruptcy case so the golfer can potentially get money if Uchitel violates the agreement in the future. The golfer’s lawyers claimed they didn’t know about her bankruptcy case when they initiated an arbitration proceeding to enforce the NDA between her and their client.
One of Woods’ lawyers, Jerrold Bregman of the Holtz Firm, argued to the judge Tuesday that his camp would only pursue Uchitel for any future possible violations of the NDA.
Uchitel listened by phone as her lawyer, Maureen Bass, asked the judge to deny the motion, saying there was no “legal basis” for it.
Judge James Garrity Jr. said he would rule at a hearing Aug. 18.
“He’s saying in the future he’s going to go after me,” Uchitel told The Post of Woods after the hearing. “He isn’t allowing me to have a fresh start.”
Her lawyer added that Woods’ camp is “not letting it die,” instead continuing their stance of “we are going to chase you until the end of time.
Bregman did not respond to a request for comment from The Post after the hearing.