Boyd

ORDER RE PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO DETERMINE STANDARD OF REVIEW

Howard Boyd has filed suit pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 1132 (a)(1)(B) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), challenging the denial of his application for long-term disability (“LTD”) benefits. Boyd brings this action against his employer, Boeing Company (“Boeing”), Boeing’s long-term disability plan (“Plan”), and the Plan’s claims administrator and insurer, Aetna Life Insurance Company (“Aetna”). Currently before the Court is Boyd’s Motion to Determine the Standard for Reviewing Aetna’s denial of his application for long-term disability benefits. For the reasons set forth below, the Court concludes that the proper standard of review is de novo.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Boyd worked for Boeing for thirty-eight years beginning as an hourly laborer and ending as a manager, a position he held for twenty-two years. (Administrative Record (“A.R.”) at 636). In the latter position, Boyd supervised a team of workers in the tooling department and was responsible for reconciling historical records involved in the purchase of tools for government contracts, preparing records for government audits, and tracking…