Overview

Byrne is a Shareholder in Maynard Nexsen’s Insurance practice group.

With more than 32 years of experience, Byrne is a national leader in ERISA litigation and employee benefits litigation. He handles ERISA and non-ERISA cases nationwide, having appeared in most federal district courts and circuit courts of appeals.  Byrne regularly defends complex benefits cases, bad faith litigation and class actions, and his active appellate practice includes published decisions on significant benefits issues in several circuit courts. He has collaborated on several briefs and petitions to the United States Supreme Court in important ERISA cases, including amicus curiae briefs such as Black & Decker v. Nord and Yates v. Hendon.

Byrne serves as national counsel to several major life and disability carriers. He frequently consults with in-house and outside counsel on litigation matters and advises clients on claims and policy issues.

A recognized thought leader, Byrne is a frequent speaker and writer on benefits and ERISA topics. He is also an active leader on DRI’s LHD/ERISA Committee and has previously served as Committee Chair, Committee Vice-Chair and Program Chair.

Byrne holds a J.D., summa cum laude, from the American University Washington College of Law, where he was a member of the American University Law Review.

Community & Professional

  • Defense Research Institute (DRI)
    • Past Chair, Life, Health, Disability/ERISA Committee

Experience

Byrne and his team defend several hundred benefits cases per year in courts across the country. Recent victories include the following:

  • Tranbarger v. Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York, 68 F.4th 311 (6th Cir. 2023)
  • Hocheiser v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, et al., 2023 WL 1267070 (3rd Cir. Jan. 31, 2023)
  • Ruderman v. Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston, 2021 WL 2712224 (2nd Cir. Jan. 27, 2022)
  • Workman v. Dearborn Nat’l Life Ins. Co., No. 20-55182, 2021 WL 6140042 (9th Cir. Dec. 29, 2021)
  • McCalla v. Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston, 2020 WL 5887797 (2nd Cir. March 15, 2021)
  • Ellis v. Liberty Life Assurance Co. of Bos., 958 F.3d 1271 (10th Cir. 2020), cert. denied, 141 S. Ct. 2567 (2021)
  • Caldwell v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America, 2017 WL 4463495 (10th Cir. September 18, 2019)
  • Faciane v. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, 931 F.3d 412, 2019 WL 3334654 (5th Cir. July 25, 2019)
  • Fortier v. Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company, 916 F.3d 74 (1st Cir. February 20, 2019)
  • Hilbert v. The Lincoln National Life Ins. Co., 2018 WL 6172034 (3rd Cir. Nov. 26, 2018)
  • Merrimon v. Unum Life Ins. Co. of Am., 758 F.3d 46 (1st Cir. 2014) cert. denied, 135 S. Ct. 1182, 191 L. Ed. 2d 134 (2015)
  • Vander Luitgaren v. Sun Life Assur. Co. of Canada, 765 F.3d 59 (1st Cir. 2014)
  • Copeland v. The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, 2024 WL 4471155 (W.D. Mi. Oct. 11, 2024)
  • Paff v. The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, 2024 WL 4368976 (E.D. Va. Oct. 1, 2024)
  • O’Connor v. The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, 2024 WL 4308093 (E.D. Va. Sept. 26, 2024)
  • Demeritt v. Unum Life Insurance Co. of America, 2024 WL 2990553 (D.N.H. June 7, 2024)
  • Mueller v. The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, 2024 WL 307789 (E.D. Ca. Jan. 26, 2024)
  • Cutway v. Hartford Life & Accident Company, 2024 WL 231453 (D. Me. Jan. 22, 2024)
  • Hughes v. The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, 2023 WL 5310611 (D. Me. Aug. 17, 2023)
  • Stout v. Liberty Life Assur. Co. of Boston, et al, 2023 WL 2266110 (C.D. Ca. Feb. 28, 2023)
  • Obegenski Estate v. Sun Life Assur. Co. of Canada, 2022 WL 2906754 (D. Ct. July 22, 2022)
  • Rose-Holliday v. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, 2021 WL 75255 (W.D. Wash. Jan 8, 2021)
  • Rush v. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, 2020 WL 1967570 (N.D. Ga. 2020)
  • Patel v. Genesis Healthcare Corp., et al., 2020 WL 781914 (D.N.H. 2020)
  • Weeman v. Life Insurance Company of North America, 2019 WL 4724275 (D. ME. Sept. 26, 2019)
  • Beltman v. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, 2019 WL 1614584 (W.D. Mich. 2019)
  • Holzman v. Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company, 2019 WL 181527 (D. Mass. 2019)
  • Loucka v. The Lincoln National Life Ins. Co., 2018 WL 5840662 (D. D.C. Nov. 7, 2018)
  • Yerington v. The Lincoln National Life Ins. Co., 312 F. Supp.3d 668 (S.D. Ohio 2018)
  • Arabaitzis v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America, 2018 WL 6530534 (D.D.C. 2018)
  • Christmas v. Sun Life Assur. Co., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 211076 (D. Conn. 2018)
  • Davis v. Sun Life Assur. Co., 2017 WL 2841630 (D. MA. Sept. 1, 2017)
  • Drach v. Sun Life Assur. Co., 2016 WL 5417191 (D. N.J. Sept. 28, 2016)
  • Ganter v. Sun Life Assur Co., 2016 WL 1268288 (W.D. Ark. Mar. 31, 2016)
  • Gladstein v. Lincoln Fin. Grp., 2015 WL 5615173 (D.R.I. Sept. 23, 2015)
  • Jevelekides v. Lincoln Nat. Corp., 2015 WL 3849312 (N.D.N.Y. June 22, 2015)
  • Bradley v. Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada, 2015 WL 8945492 (W.D. Ark. Mar. 31, 2015)
  • Rainey v. Sun Life Assur. Co. of Canada, 2014 WL 7156517 (M.D. Tenn. Dec. 15, 2014)
  • Decorpo v. Unum Life Ins. Co. of Am., 2014 WL 4794345 (D.N.H. Sept. 25, 2014)
  • Livingston v. Unum Provident, 2014 WL 4215433 (D. Me. Aug. 25, 2014)
  • Janiszewski v. Lincoln Nat’l Life Ins. Co., 2014 WL 10894550 (N.D.W. Va. Aug. 18, 2014)
  • Falk v. Life Ins. Co. of N. Am./Cigna Grp. Ins., 2013 WL 5348189 (D.N.H. Sept. 23, 2013), appeal dismissed (Mar. 20, 2014)
  • Rizik v. Lincoln Nat. Life Ins. Co., 2014 WL 1048220 (E.D. Mich. Mar. 18, 2014)
  • Irgon v. Lincoln Nat. Life Ins. Co., 2013 WL 6054809 (D.N.J. Nov. 15, 2013)
  • Neptune v. Sun Life Assur. Co. of Canada, 2013 WL 5273785 (E.D. Pa. Sept. 16, 2013)
  • Morshare v. Sun Life Assur. Co., 2013 WL 11227722 (N.D. Ga. July 8, 2013)
  • Garza v. Sun Life Assur. Co. of Canada, 2013 WL 1816989 (S.D. Tex. Apr. 29, 2013)
  • Hilton v. UNUM Life Ins. Co. of Am., 967 F. Supp. 2d 1114 (E.D. Va. 2013)

* Decisions prior to March 2025 were rendered before Byrne joined Maynard Nexsen.

Recognitions

Recognition

  • The Best Lawyers in America
    • Commercial Litigation (2011-2025)
    • Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law (2011-2025)
    • Litigation – ERISA (2011-2025)
    • Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants (2011-2025)
  • Best Lawyers “Lawyer of the Year” in Portland, ME for Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants (2014, 2020, 2022, 2024)
  • Super Lawyers
  • Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent™ Rating

Media

Insights

  • 2020 – American Bar Association (Co-author) – “First Circuit chapter of ERISA Survey of Federal Circuits”
  • 2018 – American Bar Association (Co-author) – “First Circuit chapter of ERISA Survey of Federal Circuits”
  • 2016 – American Bar Association (Co-author) – “First Circuit chapter of ERISA Survey of Federal Circuits”
  • 2015 – Maine and New Hampshire chapters, Second Edition, American Bar Association Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section (Co-author) – “Misrepresentations in the Life, Health and Disability Insurance Application Process: A National Survey”
  • 2014 – For the Defense (Co-author) – “Who Would Have Thought? The Expansion of Remedies under ERISA”

Speeches

Multimedia

  • DRI LHD Seminar – “A Practical Guide For Keeping Up with Disability Trends: Disability Law Update” – Philadelphia – 2024
  • DRI LHD Seminar – “Defending Subjective Disability Claims” – Nashville – 2022
  • DRI LHD Seminar – “Defending Plan Administrator Error Cases” – Boston – 2018
  • DRI LHD Seminar – “Defending ERISA Section 502(a)(3) Claims” – Chicago – 2016
  • DRI LHD Boot Camp – “Analyzing the Claim File and Preparing for Litigation” – Bi-Annual Presentation

Admissions

  • State Bar: California, Maine, Minnesota, Massachusetts, New Hampshire
  • U.S. District Court: Arkansas (Eastern, Western), California (Central, Eastern, Northern, Southern), Colorado, Illinois (Northern), Indiana (Northern, Southern), Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan (Eastern, Western), Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York (Northern, Western), North Dakota, Ohio (Northern), Oklahoma (Western), Vermont, Wisconsin (Eastern, Western)
  • U.S. Court of Appeals: First Circuit, Second Circuit, Third Circuit, Fourth Circuit, Fifth Circuit, Sixth Circuit, Ninth Circuit, Tenth Circuit, Eleventh Circuit
  • U.S. Supreme Court
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