David Bryson Byrne III

David is a principal and trial attorney in Beasley Allen's Mass Torts section, where he is assisting clients with claims against pharmaceutical and medical device companies. He is primarily working on litigation related to Xarelto blood thinner, Transvaginal Mesh injuries, as well as Hormone Replacement Therapy class action litigation in California.

Prior to moving to Mass Torts, David practiced in the firm's Environmental & Toxic Torts section, where he has handled numerous complex environmental cases in state and federal courts throughout the United States.  He has been actively involved in litigation related to the BP Oil Spill disaster. Additionally, David's cases have involved such wide-ranging topics as drinking water contamination, toxic air emissions, contaminated waste water discharges, toxic exposure, improper landfill activities, petroleum spills, medical monitoring claims and soil and groundwater contamination. During the course of his environmental practice, David has represented individuals, businesses and municipalities, and assisted numerous clients in obtaining multi-million dollar settlements or verdicts. In 2003, David was involved in the landmark $700-million toxic tort settlement with Solutia, Monsanto and Pharmacia over PCB contamination in Anniston, Alabama.

In connection with the BP Oil Spill litigation, David has assisted the State of Alabama and numerous counties and cities in Alabama and northwest Florida that have been damaged by the disaster.

In addition, David recently served as co-lead counsel in the federal trial against the Tennessee Valley Authority over the company’s catastrophic release of more than 1 billion gallons of coal ash sludge from an impoundment at its Kingston Fossil Plant. Beasley Allen represents hundreds of individual property owners and businesses who were damaged when the Kingston impoundment ruptured on December 22, 2008, and released an enormous wave of toxic coal slurry into local neighborhoods and the Watts Bar Reservoir. The environmental ramifications of the TVA spill have been enormous and cleanup is slated to cost more than $1 billion and continue for years to come.

David also recently served as co-lead class counsel in a New Jersey federal court case involving PFOA contamination of public and private drinking water supplies near the DuPont Chambers Works facility in Deepwater, NJ. In 2011, the Court approved a class settlement that is expected to provide water filtration systems and other relief to over 15,000 local residents.

In addition, David has assisted clients in obtaining multi-million dollar settlements or verdicts in other types of cases involving food-product franchises, the Federal Tort Claims Act, accounting malpractice, motor vehicle franchise disputes, consumer fraud, the funeral services industry, premises liability, insurance agent contract disputes, and defective products.

David is a 1989 graduate of the Citadel where he served on the Cadet Honor Committee. In 1992, he obtained his law degree from the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. During his time at Cumberland, David was elected to the positions of Chief Justice of the Student Honor Court and Director of the Student Trial Advocacy Board. David's peers elected him Best Student Advocate in 1991.

Following graduation, David served as a Deputy Alabama Attorney General and as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge Robert Varner and Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals Judge John M. Patterson. Before joining Beasley Allen, David was a partner with the Montgomery, Ala., law firm, Beck & Byrne, P.C.

David currently serves as the Chair of the Alabama State Bar's Federal Court Practice Section. David is a past-president of the Montgomery County Trial Lawyers Association and currently serves on the Board of the Federal Bar Association (Middle District of Alabama Chapter).  David is also a member of the Board of Governors for the Alabama Association for Justice and is a Master Bencher with the Justice Hugh Maddox American Inn of Court.  In 2009, David was appointed to serve as the Chair of the Alabama Bar's Federal Practice Section Task Force. He was named to the Best Lawyers in America list.

David is a regular speaker at state, regional and national environmental law seminars.  Most recently, he served as a speaker and faculty member for the HB Litigation Coal Ash & Slurry Contamination seminar and the American Association for Justice's Gulf Coast Oil Spill Litigation seminar.

David and his wife Betty Bobbitt have been married for 22 years, and they have two children. They attend First Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala.