Boston Globe files lawsuit against former employee

The Boston Globe filed a lawsuit Friday against Hilary Sargent, a former Boston.com editor, in an attempt to compel her to reveal more information about a text exchange that she said shows she was harassed by the Globe’s editor, Brian McGrory.

The lawsuit, filed in Suffolk Superior Court, says that Sargent’s refusal to turn over the date of the allegedly inappropriate text message has made it impossible to determine whether she was an employee of the Globe at the time it was sent, as she has suggested.

The Globe says her failure to cooperate with the investigation violates the terms of her 2016 separation agreement from the organization, which required her to cooperate with the Globe in any investigation arising from her employment.