ALBANY, N.Y. (WRGB) — A legal dispute involving Albany Medical Center CEO Dan Pickett is expanding beyond a fight over property from a Manhattan apartment into dueling claims tied to an allegation of sexual assault.
Pickett appeared in Saratoga County Court yesterday for a property ownership hearing. He says his ex-girlfriend took more than $300,000 worth of furniture and other property from his Fifth Avenue apartment, where she lived but was not on the lease.
The woman, who Pickett dated for 15 months, has accused him of sexually assaulting her toward the end of their relationship. Pickett has denied the allegation and has now filed a defamation lawsuit.
In a summons filed in Saratoga County Supreme Court, Pickett is suing his ex-girlfriend for defamation after she publicly accused him of sexual assault. The summons also claims she planned to serve Pickett with legal process at a public gala, use his CEO position against him in court, and falsely alleged that he uses illegal drugs.
Michael Macomber, a partner at Tully Rinckey PLLC, said the defamation case hinges on whether the sexual assault allegation can be proven.
“If she prevails on the sexual assault claim she obviously defeats the defamation claim because that’s the whole crux of the defamation claim,” Macomber said. “So, it really is her burden to prove.”
A letter from Pickett’s attorney says the pair was in an exclusive relationship from Nov. 2023 until Feb. 2025, but that Pickett allowed her to stay in the Manhattan apartment until Feb. 28, 2026, and renewed the lease after their relationship ended. The letter says she refused to leave before the lease was up in April 2026.
According to the letter, when Pickett first hired movers to retrieve his property in March, the ex-girlfriend refused to let them inside. The letter says she later agreed to allow access once she moved out in April, but when movers arrived, the apartment was empty.
Macomber said allegations of sexual assault can fall into a category of defamation claims that do not require the plaintiff to prove damages.
“In the case of sexual assault, it’s something we call defamation per se, meaning he doesn’t necessarily need to pursue or prove damages,” he said. “The allegation itself is there.”
In a complaint she filed representing herself, the ex-girlfriend alleges Pickett began having sex with her when she was asleep in the early morning hours of Feb. 15, 2025. She filed a report with the NYPD in March 2026, and authorities interviewed Pickett before closing the case within a few days.
Macomber noted the complaint was filed without an attorney.
“It is pro se, it’s written by a non-attorney,” he said. “But she lays out some very clear facts saying there were very clear boundaries that were established in our relationship. He crossed those boundaries.”
