Metrom Rail, LLC v. Ground Transportation Systems USA Inc. (formerly Thales; now Hitachi Rail GTS USA Inc.) et al.

I'll research this case thoroughly using web searches to verify the details.

Let me dig deeper into the procedural posture and the specific patents.

Let me verify the IPR outcomes for the other patents and the SDNY case status.

Case Overview and Background

The parties: a small practicing innovator versus global rail incumbents and a rival integrator

Metrom Rail, LLC is not a classic patent troll. Headquartered in Lakemoor, Illinois, Metrom has developed and sold ultra-wideband ("UWB")-based rail safety and train-control equipment since 2010 and describes itself as "the first company to provide UWB technologies to the rail industry"; its flagship product is the AURA collision-avoidance system ("AURA CAS"), deployed on thousands of maintenance-of-way vehicles (see Metrom press release, Jan. 18, 2022, https://metrom-rail.com/filebin/Lawsuit/Metrom_Rail_Press_Release_1.18.22.pdf; Federal Circuit opinion describing AURA CAS, https://cafc.uscourts.gov//opinions-orders/24-2223.OPINION.5-11-2026_2691571.pdf). Metrom holds a modest portfolio (8 issued U.S. patents as of early 2022) and won the MTA's 2018 "Genius Challenge for Signaling" with its PTCS-2 ("Positive Train Control System based on Ultra-Wideband for Communications and Location"). So while Metrom's posture resembles a non-practicing-entity assertion campaign in form (small patent owner suing large vendors), in substance it is an operating company suing far larger competitors over technology it commercialized. On the defense side, Ground Transportation Systems USA Inc. is the renamed Thales Transport & Security / Thales USA entity (the Delaware court noted Thales "recently changed its name to Ground Transportation Systems USA, Inc."), and it is now part of Hitachi Rail GTS USA Inc. following Hitachi Rail's acquisition of Thales' Ground Transportation Systems business. Co-defendant Piper Networks, Inc. is a San Diego–headquartered Delaware corporation that "holds itself out as a rail engineering solutions provider and systems integrator" (D. Mass. opinion, https://masslawyersweekly.com/files/2025/12/02-654-25.pdf). The severed parallel case targets Siemens Mobility, Inc. and Humatics Corp.

The accused technology: the MTA's UWB "Pilot" train-control system

The infringement theory centers on the MTA New York City Transit UWB signaling/"Pilot" system, procured under MTA RFP No. W-81199 (issued Jan. 14, 2019; contracts W-81199-1 and -2). Metrom alleges it pioneered a UWB alternative to legacy Communications-Based Train Control ("CBTC") that the MTA adopted conceptually in its Genius Challenge, but that when the MTA solicited the next phase, the contracts went to two rival teams — Thales/Piper and Siemens/Humatics — who (Metrom alleges) built systems using Metrom's UWB approach. The accused architecture uses wayside UWB "anchors"/"beacons" plus train-mounted UWB "nodes" that range to one another and generate locally computed train-control information (the amended complaint maps these components to the asserted claims; see the claim-charting summary at https://ai-lab.exparte.com/case/dct/nysd/1:23-cv-02920/doc/9, and the Delaware severance opinion, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ded.77707/gov.uscourts.ded.77707.51.0.pdf). Metrom's complaint also advances a copying/derivation narrative, alleging that engineers who had access to Metrom's AURA technology (including a former Parsons engineer, David Garcia, who later became a Piper vice president) helped develop Piper's competing "Helix"/"ELTS" systems, and that Siemens filed patent applications claiming Metrom's inventions (including WO 2019/030018).

The five asserted patents (per the complaint and press release) and their one-line technical sketches are:

• U.S. 8,812,227 – Collision-avoidance system using UWB sensing (shared specification/priority with the '131 patent; May 19, 2011 priority).
• U.S. 9,043,131 – Collision-avoidance system with vehicle-mounted modules, transponder sensor modules, and UWB time-of-flight separation-distance determination (same family as '227).
• U.S. 10,778,363 – "Methods and Systems for Decentralized Rail Signaling and Positive Train Control": a "train-centric" control architecture in which UWB-equipped train-mounted and wayside units generate control information locally (priority Aug. 4, 2017; the complaint maps Claim 1 to the MTA UWB system).
• U.S. 10,737,709 – "Worker Protection System": train-mounted and wayside UWB units that cooperate to alert track workers of approaching trains.
• U.S. 10,179,595 – "Worker Protection System": wearable personal alert devices plus vehicle-mounted and wayside companion alert devices for roadway-worker protection.

Procedural posture: Delaware genesis, severance, transfer to SDNY, and parallel IPRs

Metrom filed the original action in the District of Delaware on January 13, 2022 (No. 22-cv-00049-RGA, Judge Richard G. Andrews) against Siemens, Thales, Humatics, and Piper, asserting direct, contributory (§271(c)), and induced (§271(b)) infringement, willfulness, tortious interference, and civil conspiracy. In March 2023 Judge Andrews issued a memorandum order that (i) severed the case into a Siemens/Humatics track and a Thales/Piper track, (ii) dismissed the direct-infringement claims against Humatics and Piper, (iii) dismissed the tortious-interference count as preempted as to Piper, Humatics, and Thales, and (iv) dismissed the civil-conspiracy count against all defendants. The Thales/Piper matter proceeded under No. 1:23-cv-00314-RGA and was transferred to the Southern District of New York, where it was docketed as No. 1:23-cv-02920. In the SDNY docket, the case was assigned to Judge Denise L. Cote (see pro hac vice orders and the stay order citing "Judge Denise L. Cote"), although your case metadata lists Judge Analisa Torres — a discrepancy I cannot resolve from the sources retrieved, and it may reflect a later reassignment. In April 2023 the SDNY case was stayed in its entirety by joint stipulation pending the parties' inter partes reviews. Those IPRs were filed in 2023 by a common petitioner group (Siemens Mobility, Ground Transportation Systems USA, Humatics, and Piper, with Thales USA named as a real party in interest): IPR2023-00468 ('131 patent) and IPR2023-00470 ('227 patent) reached final written decisions June 18, 2024 holding all claims of the '227 patent and claims 1–16 of the '131 patent unpatentable as obvious, while claims 17–20 of the '131 patent survived. On May 11, 2026, the Federal Circuit (No. 24-2223) affirmed the invalidity of the '227 patent and claims 1–16 of the '131 patent and reversed on claims 17–20, holding the Board misconstrued "data representing the separation distance" — leaving all asserted claims of both '131 and '227 invalid. Additional IPRs (IPR2023-00439, -00452, -00460, and IPR2024-00947) involve the '363, '709, and '595 patents; I was not able to confirm their final outcomes from the sources retrieved, so those should be verified against PTAB dockets. Separately, in Metrom Rail, LLC v. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, No. 25-cv-11446-ADB (D. Mass., Judge Burroughs, Dec. 8, 2025), Metrom sued over Piper's ~$113 million MBTA Green Line Train Protection System contract; the court found venue improper as to Piper, transferred the Piper claims to SDNY, and severed and stayed the claims against the MBTA.

Why the case matters

The case sits at the intersection of several notable trends. First, it is a market-exclusion fight disguised as patent litigation: the MTA's signal-modernization program is a multi-billion-dollar franchise (the complaint cites MTA's $588 million, nine-year Flushing-line CBTC conversion), and the dispute is really about whether UWB-based, train-centric control will displace incumbents' legacy CBTC. Second, it is an atypical NPE narrative — a genuine operating company (not a shell) using patents to defend a market position against much larger vendors, with parallel allegations of copying and improper patent-application conduct by those vendors. Third, the IPR linkage is dispositive-adjacent: the district court case was stayed pending the IPRs, and the Federal Circuit's 2026 decision wiped out the '227 and '131 patents entirely, which — combined with the pending IPRs on the '363, '709, and '595 patents — materially weakens Metrom's remaining infringement case and likely shapes any settlement leverage. Fourth, the venue saga (Delaware severance → transfer to SDNY, plus a later improper-venue dismissal/transfer out of Massachusetts) illustrates how TC Heartland and §1400(b) continue to drive where patent cases against rail integrators and their transit-agency customers are litigated, and the D. Mass. ruling applied the customer-suit/collateral-estoppel logic to stay claims against the MBTA pending the SDNY case. Finally, the corporate-continuity issues (Thales → Ground Transportation Systems USA → Hitachi Rail GTS USA) will bear on any judgment-enforcement and indemnity questions if the litigation outlasts the IPRs.

I'll research this case across multiple sources. Let me start with several parallel searches.

I have substantial material. Let me drill into the specific docket events, the transfer, and the parallel IPRs on the other patents.

Metrom Rail v. Ground Transportation Systems USA (Hitachi Rail GTS USA) & Piper Networks — Litigation Timeline & Outcomes

Scope note: This builds on the earlier sections. The case at 1:23-cv-00314-RGA / 1:23-cv-02920 is the severed, transferred branch of a 2022 multi-defendant suit. Because that branch was stayed almost immediately and has never left the pleading stage, several of the requested milestones (Markman, discovery, trial, verdict, JMOL/fees) never occurred in this docket. The substantive fireworks happened at the PTAB and the Federal Circuit, and in two related follow-on cases. I flag confidence levels throughout.

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1. Origin and Filing (predecessor case, 2022)

• 2022-01-13 — Metrom Rail, LLC filed Metrom Rail, LLC v. Siemens Mobility, Inc., et al., No. 1:22-cv-00049-RGA (D. Del.), against Siemens Mobility, Thales Transport & Security, Thales USA, Humatics Corp., and Piper Networks. Press release 2022-01-18 confirms five asserted patents: 10,778,363; 8,812,227; 9,043,131; 10,737,709; 10,179,595, plus state-law counts for tortious interference with prospective economic advantage and "civil conspiracy." (Metrom press release)
• Theory of the case: the accused instrumentality is the MTA New York City Transit UWB train-control/collision-avoidance deployment (MTA RFP W-81199; Siemens/Humatics and Thales/Piper pilot and integration contracts). Metrom also pleaded inequitable-conduct-adjacent allegations that Siemens/Piper filed patent applications on Metrom's disclosed technology — background, not a count.
• June 24, 2019 notice letter identified three of the five patents to defendants; that date later anchored the knowledge pleading for inducement/contributory/willfulness. (Memo Order, D.I. 51 in 22-cv-49.)

2. First Round of Pre-Trial Motions — MTD + Severance (2023-03-22)

Judge Richard G. Andrews decided the consolidated motions:

• Motions to dismiss (D.I. 37, 39): granted in part, denied in part.
  • Direct infringement: plausible as to Siemens and Thales/GTS; dismissed as to Humatics and Piper.
  • Indirect and willful infringement: sufficiently pleaded for the three patents named in the 2019 letter (as of 2019-06-24) and the remaining two as of the original complaint (2022-01-13).
  • Count VI (tortious interference): dismissed as to Piper, Humatics, and Thales (preempted by federal patent law as pleaded); survived as to Siemens.
  • Count VII (civil conspiracy): dismissed as to all defendants.
• Motion to sever (D.I. 41): granted — one case against Siemens + Humatics; a second against Thales/GTS + Piper.
• Sources: CourtListener opinion; opinion PDF.

This order is the operative "initial pleading" event for our case — Metrom never filed a fresh complaint against GTS/Piper; the severed docket was constructed from the 22-cv-49 filings (D. Del. docket remark, 2023-03-22).

3. Severed Case Opens, Then Immediately Transfers (2023-03-22 → 2023-04-06)

• 2023-03-22 — New severed case opened as 1:23-cv-00314-RGA (D. Del.) against Ground Transportation Systems USA Inc. (Thales) and Piper Networks.
• 2023-04-04/05 — Joint stipulation to transfer the case to S.D.N.Y. and extend time to file responsive pleadings; So Ordered by Judge Andrews 2023-04-05 (D.I. 25).
• 2023-04-06 — Case transferred in as 1:23-cv-02920 (S.D.N.Y.). Originally assigned to Judge Analisa Torres, but reassigned to Judge Denise L. Cote on 2023-04-12 (with a notice of initial pretrial conference set for 2023-04-28). (Patexia docket)

⚠️ Metadata discrepancy: your case sheet lists Judge Analisa Torres for the S.D.N.Y. branch. The docket shows Judge Cote took the case on 2023-04-12 and has controlled it since (she authored the 2025-2026 orders in the related MBTA/Piper case).

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4. Stay Pending IPR — the Case's Defining Event (2023-04-21)

• 2023-04-21 — Judge Cote entered a Joint Stipulation and Order to Stay (S.D.N.Y. D.I. 34): the action is "stayed in its entirety." The parties agreed to file a joint status report within 14 days after PTAB final written decisions (or other termination of the IPRs) for all patents-in-suit, and the initial pretrial conference was adjourned. (UniCourt docket)
• Practical consequence: no answer, no counterclaims, no Rule 12 practice, no scheduling order, no Markman ever occurred in this docket. Responsive pleadings were being extended at the moment of transfer and were mooted by the stay. If you are looking for an answer or DJ counterclaim from GTS/Hitachi or Piper here, none is docketed.
• The parallel Siemens/Humatics branch (23-cv-3057-MKV, S.D.N.Y.) produced the fullest judicial stay analysis: complete stay granted 2024-01-29, including the non-patent tortious-interference count, Metrom Rail, LLC v. Siemens Mobility, Inc., No. 23-CV-3057, 2024 WL 323374 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 29, 2024). That opinion is now cited by other courts as the template for the four stay sub-factors (timing of IPR request, timing of stay request, status of the PTAB proceeding, party relationship).
• 2025-03-03 — The S.D.N.Y. stay in 23-cv-02920 was continued by memo endorsement (ECF No. 51) pending the Federal Circuit appeal of the IPR decisions (confirmed in the D. Mass. transfer opinion, CourtListener ECF 62).

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5. Parallel PTAB Proceedings (2023–2024) — the real battleground

Petitioners: Siemens Mobility, Inc.; Ground Transportation Systems USA Inc.; Humatics Corp.; Piper Networks, Inc. Real parties in interest included Thales USA, Inc. (per IPR2023-00470 FWD).

Confidence note: I confirmed the -00468, -00470, and -00447 records directly. The mapping of IPR2023-00439/-00452/-00460 to specific ones of the '363/'709/'595 patents is not confirmed by the sources I retrieved — the PTAB record only states they "involve the same parties." Treat those three as filed-but-outcome-unverified.

Primary art in the '227/'131 IPRs: U.S. Patent No. 6,759,948 (Grisham) (UWB railroad collision avoidance), WO 03/009254 (Nixon) (GPS functionality), U.S. Patent No. 8,874,359 (Douglas) (location tracking), and Richardson.

Procedural events inside the IPRs (from hearing transcript, IPR2023-00468/-00470, heard 2024-03-28):

• Metrom's motion to submit supplemental information filed 2023-12-12 (three days before Petitioner's reply) to corroborate that ex-Parsons engineer David Garcia had access to Metrom's AURA technology before joining Piper (Piper's "Helix" system alleged to be a copy of AURA). The Board resolved the motion on the record at the hearing. (PTAB transcript)
• Patent Owner's POR and expert/witness declarations (Gunther, Marchi); Petitioners deposed them.
• Board adopted Petitioner's broader POSITA definition (wireless electronics, not specifically railway).

Effect on the litigation: The IPRs are the entire reason our case has been dormant since April 2023, and they ultimately invalidated the two patents that formed the core of the original collision-avoidance theory.

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6. Federal Circuit Appeal (2024-2223, 2024-2264) — decimated the asserted portfolio

• Caption: Metrom Rail, LLC v. Siemens Mobility, Inc.; Hitachi Rail GTS USA Inc. (f/k/a Ground Transportation Systems USA Inc.); Humatics Corp.; Piper Networks, Inc., Nos. 2024-2223, 2024-2264 (Fed. Cir.). Note the Hitachi rename is judicially confirmed here.
• 2026-05-11 — Nonprecedential decision: affirmed-in-part, reversed-in-part.
  • Affirmed the Board's obviousness holdings: all claims of the '227 patent and claims 1-16 of the '131 patent unpatentable.
  • Rejected Metrom's secondary-considerations case — no presumption of nexus because the AURA CAS product had important unclaimed features (machine-function monitoring, remote data reporting); no "direct result of unique characteristics" showing. Fox Factory v. SRAM, 944 F.3d 1366.
  • Reversed the Board's survival of '131 claims 17-20, holding the Board adopted an incorrect construction of "data representing the separation distance." Net effect: all claims of both patents unpatentable.
  • Fed. Cir. opinion PDF; IP Law Daily summary, 2026-05-12; reported as "Siemens Erases Collision-Avoidance Patents at Federal Circuit."
• June 2026 — Metrom filed a combined petition for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc (counsel Gregory C. Schodde), arguing the panel adopted a claim construction no party advanced, violating the party-presentation rule (Clark v. Sweeney, 607 U.S. 7 (2025); In re Google Tech. Holdings, 980 F.3d 858; Netflix v. DivX, 84 F.4th 1371), and misapplied Graham v. John Deere. (petition PDF)
• Present posture: the mandate has not issued (as of the last available orders), so the S.D.N.Y. stays remain in place pending finality.

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7. Related Front: MBTA / Piper Green Line Case (2025–2026)

This is a separate Metrom assertion against the same Piper (the '738 and '131 patents) and matters because it is now being coordinated with our case in S.D.N.Y.

• 2025-05-21 — Metrom sues Piper and the MBTA in D. Mass. (No. 1:25-cv-11446-ADB, Judge Allison D. Burroughs) over Piper's RPS/ATP-O system and the $113M GLTPS contract for the MBTA Green Line.
• 2025-06-27 — Metrom moves for a preliminary injunction and expedited discovery in aid of it (D.I. 22-24).
• 2025-07-23 — Piper moves to dismiss or transfer; MBTA moves to dismiss. 2025-09-24 — MBTA moves to sever and stay (customer-suit exception).
• 2025-12-08 — D. Mass. grants Piper's transfer to S.D.N.Y. (venue improper under TC Heartland; Piper's single Massachusetts employee's last day was the filing date), denies Piper's MTD without prejudice, grants MBTA's sever-and-stay, and denies Metrom's PI/expedited-discovery motions without prejudice. (CourtListener ECF 62; Finnegan D. Mass. update)
• 2025-12-16 — Transferred in as 1:25-cv-10417-DLC (S.D.N.Y., Judge Cote). 2026-02-13 SAC; 2026-03-04 SAC narrowed to Piper only.
• 2026-05-20 — Judge Cote denies Piper's renewed MTD in part: the '738 claim survives; the '131 claim is dismissed as moot given the Federal Circuit ruling. PI denied without prejudice; case stayed until the Federal Circuit's '131 decision is final and the mandate issues, at which point the court will set a claim-construction and '738 validity schedule. (Justia opinion; Law360, 2026-05-21)

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8. Bottom Line

Strategic read: The case's center of gravity shifted entirely to the PTAB. The complete stay (with the parties' own stipulation) meant Metrom never got discovery or claim construction in Delaware/New York, and the IPRs eliminated the two collision-avoidance patents ('227, '131) that carried the original theory. What remains viable is the '363, '709, '595 group (outcome of their IPRs unconfirmed in my sources) plus the '738 patent in the related Piper/MBTA case, where Judge Cote has expressly preserved a claim-construction track for '738. Note also the IPR2024-00947 § 325(d) denial plus the pending Director Review request (2024-12-19) — if the Director reverses and institutes on '738, that would impose a further stay over the one live patent.

Low-confidence / unverified items: (1) exact institution dates for IPR2023-00468/-00470 (hearing 2024-03-28 and FWD 2024-06-18 are confirmed; institution is inferred to mid-2023); (2) mapping of IPR2023-00439/-00452/-00460 to '363/'709/'595; (3) whether any answers/counterclaims were filed in 23-cv-3057 (Siemens) before its stay. I would verify these against the PTAB P-TACTS dockets and PACER before publication.

I'll research the counsel of record for Metrom Rail, LLC across the docket and related sources.

Now let me look for the specific docket entries and Delaware/New York local counsel for Metrom Rail.

Let me pull the actual docket sheets for both cases.

Let me verify the SDNY-side plaintiff representation and confirm the Delaware docket entries for case 23-314.

I'll research the counsel of record for the defendants in this case. Let me start with several searches.

Let me look at the docket sheets directly.

Let me pull the SDNY docket and the Delaware docket entries showing appearances.

Counsel of Record — Defendants

Bottom line: Two defendants remain in this severed action — Ground Transportation Systems USA Inc. (n/k/a Hitachi Rail GTS USA Inc.) and Piper Networks, Inc. Each is represented by a different defense team, and the same firms appear in the parallel PTAB proceedings. Below is what is confirmable from the dockets, PTAB papers, and appellate filings, with the gaps flagged explicitly.

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1. Ground Transportation Systems USA Inc. / Hitachi Rail GTS USA Inc.

The firm is consistently the Delaware-side and appellate-side representative for this defendant. Note the corporate renaming: Thales → Ground Transportation Systems USA → Hitachi Rail GTS USA Inc. (the Federal Circuit docket shows GTS terminated 10/2/2024 and Hitachi Rail GTS substituted as cross-appellant).

2. Piper Networks, Inc.

Gap: Piper's S.D.N.Y. local counsel is not identifiable from the sources I could access. Because Wisnia is a California practitioner who appeared only by pro hac vice motion, local counsel of record must exist, but the name does not appear in the docket excerpts retrieved. Treat that slot as unconfirmed rather than empty.

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3. Related counsel (same defendants, different forum — for context, not district-court appearances)

These attorneys appear only in the PTAB proceedings, which run in parallel and are coordinated with the district-court defense:

• Crowell & Moring LLP — Joshua H. James (Chicago), Mark M. Supko and Kassidy L. Schmitz (Washington, DC), Vincent Galluzzo: designated lead/backup counsel for the petitioner group in the IPRs (representing Siemens Mobility, not a defendant in this severed case).
• Wolf Greenfield & Sacks, P.C. — Gregory S. Nieberg, Nathan R. Speed (Boston): counsel for Humatics Corp. (also not a defendant in this severed case).

Per the Patent Owner's mandatory notices, service in the IPRs goes to both Rahmeier (Faegre Drinker, for GTS) and Wisnia/Dority & Manning (for Piper), confirming they are the operating defense counsel for the two defendants here.

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4. Procedural facts bearing on the counsel picture

• D. Del. phase was brief. The severed case was opened 3/22/2023 on Judge Andrews's severance order (D.I. 23, from C.A. 22‑49‑RGA) and transferred out on 4/5/2023 (D.I. 25, granting the joint stipulation at D.I. 24 filed by Rahmeier for GTS).
• S.D.N.Y. case No. 1:23‑cv‑02920 — docketed 4/6/2023. Assigned initially to Judge Analisa Torres, then reassigned to Judge Denise L. Cote on 4/12/2023 (D.I. 27). Note: the case metadata lists Judge Torres; the docket shows she is no longer assigned, and subsequent PTAB filings and press refer to the case as 23‑cv‑02920‑DLC.
• Case stayed by joint stipulation (D.I. 34, Apr. 21, 2023), pending the IPRs — which is why few substantive appearances exist beyond the PHV motions.
• Per a Law360 report dated May 21, 2026, Piper was denied its motion to dismiss in the New York case (the court finding the suit gave Piper adequate notice of the infringement claims), indicating the stay was lifted and litigation resumed.

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5. Confidence and sourcing

• High confidence: Brzezynski, Rahmeier (GTS/Hitachi); Wisnia (Piper) — grounded in actual docket entries (D.I. 24, 25, 28, 35, 38), PTAB mandatory notices, and the Federal Circuit docket for No. 24‑2223.
• Medium confidence: Moore and Cunningham (Piper) and Kachmer (GTS) as case counsel — they are clearly on the defense team via the IPRs, but I did not confirm district-court appearances.
• Unconfirmed / not found: any in-house counsel; Piper's S.D.N.Y. local counsel; any counsel appearing after the 2023 stay.
• No fabricated names. Where the record did not yield a name (e.g., Piper local counsel), I have said so rather than inferring one. If you need the definitive current Rule 7.1/lead-counsel designations, the reliable next step is a live PACER pull of the S.D.N.Y. docket (1:23‑cv‑02920) appearances tab, since public aggregators (UniCourt, Patexia) truncate the docket after 2023.