Boston Globe Drops Lawsuit Against Former Employee

BOSTON, MA — The Boston Globe dropped the lawsuit it brought against a former employee who accused the top editor of sexual harassment and then allegedly refused to provide more details.

"The Boston Globe will drop its lawsuit against a former staff member who alleged that the paper’s editor, Brian McGrory, sent her an inappropriate text," the Globe posted to the website.

A letter to the court said “a preliminary injunction is no longer necessary,” and indicated the Globe hoped the former employee Hilary Sargent would, instead, choose to cooperate with the paper’s investigation into her claims about McGrory, who she once dated.

A Notice of Dismissal dated June 11 is signed by Globe Attorney Mark Batten regarding the case.

The newspaper originally argued that Sargent’s 2016 separation agreement from the company required her “reasonable” cooperation if any questions were ever to come up. When the injunction came to court, the judge, however, asked that the two sides come back with a joint letter.

Many media pundits said their sense was that the judge wanted the two sides to work it out on their own.

Sargent's sent to court via her attorney Jack Siegal, said the Globe’s actions vindicated Sargent and “confirms the lack of merits in the Globe’s allegations."

In a statement to the media via email Sargent said she'd never refused to cooperate with the Globe in the first place:

“Last fall, I began asking The Boston Globe’s leadership to be open to hearing privately about
the experiences of former employees with respect to sexual harassment. My requests to discuss
the matter privately were ignored. It wasn’t until I went public last month with an accusation that
the Globe contacted me, and immediately threatened litigation. I have never refused to cooperate
in the Globe’s “investigation.” No media institution that expects to be taken seriously on the the
issue of sexual harassment should ignore concerns of one of its former employees, nor should
they resort to litigation as a first option. I am disappointed that the Globe’s leadership chose that
route, and I’m pleased they chose to drop this lawsuit. I look forward to speaking openly without
the threat of litigation, and in a manner that takes into account the sensitivity of the subject
matter.”

More to come on this.

Read the Globe announcement: Globe To Drop Lawsuit

Catch up on this story:

Boston Globe, Hilary Sargent In Court Over Harassment

Editor Of Boston Globe Accused Of Sending Inappropriate Texts

Boston Globe Editor Responds 'I Never Harassed'

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