Christopher
R. Teske

About

Chris is a seasoned courtroom lawyer who represents insurance companies and insurance professionals, public entities, and construction contractors in trials, arbitrations and appeals.  His practice has taken him to courts across Louisiana, Texas, and the nation.  He enjoys the challenge of trying cases and is happy to jump in to assist existing trial counsel or take over the defense of a case even on very short notice. Since 2006 he has shared those skills with the next generation of lawyers by teaching Trial Advocacy as an adjunct professor of law at Tulane University.  He is also a founding director of Tulane’s nationally recognized Civil Litigation Intersession Program, which teaches second- and third-year law students the art of preparing cases for trial.

Professional liability clients routinely seek out Chris’ expert advice in defending claims against them at trial.  His representation of insurance agents, adjusters, and other professionals has included evaluating and resolving cases in Louisiana, Texas, Montana, and Ontario, Canada.  He and his team led the charge in defending major insurance agents and brokers against claims that they failed to obtain insurance that would protect their clients against losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  They successfully obtained the dismissal of their clients in nearly all of those cases and a favorable decision from the United States Fifth Circuit clarifying the scope of an insurance agency’s duties to its customers under Louisiana law.  They have also defended insurance agents in cases involving the placement of foreign liability insurance policies to cover risks in Saudi Arabia and the UAE and obtained favorable results for insurance claims professionals in disputes over the alleged mishandling of first-party insurance claims.  

During his nearly 25-year career, Chris has also handled coverage disputes ranging from the allegedly defective construction of commercial buildings and multi-family apartment and condominium complexes across the Southeastern United States to travel medical evacuation insurance claims involving witnesses in three countries.  He also regularly assists insurance companies in the pre-suit investigation and handling of first-party claims including suspicious losses such as arsons, staged thefts, and suspicious water damage events, as well as Business Interruption and Contingent Business Interruption claims.  Chris has also represented carriers in coverage actions seeking defense and indemnity for claims resulting from toxic and environmental exposures. 

Chris also has a wealth of experience in cases involving school boards, sheriff’s offices, and other municipal government agencies.  He has represented those clients in cases involving liability and coverage for alleged misconduct by their employees ranging from simple negligence in operations to intentional or criminal acts such as sexual abuse, wrongful arrest, wrongful termination of employment, and employee on employee harassment.

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Practice Areas​

• Professional Liability Defense and Coverage

• Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith

• First-Party Insurance Claims Investigation

  • Arson

  • Staged Theft

  • Business Interruption/Contingent BI

  • Intentional Water Damage

• Public Entity Coverage and Liability

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Notable representations

• Dynamic Industries, Inc., et al. v. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., et al. CA No. 22-30033 (U.S. Fifth Cir. 3/13/2023), 2023 WL 2474220.  Pipes Miles represented Marsh in a dispute involving placement of a foreign liability insurance policy by Marsh’s offices in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Dubai.  We successfully obtained a dismissal of the suit filed in federal court for the Eastern District of Louisiana based on Louisiana’s statute of limitations for claims against insurance agents and brokers and defended that ruling on appeal to the US Fifth Circuit.

• Coleman E. Adler & Sons, LLC, et al. v. Axis Surplus Insurance Co., Risk Placement Services, Inc., and Marsh & McLennan Agency, LLC, CA No. 21-30478 (U.S. Fifth Cir. 9/20/2022), 49 F.4th 894.  Pipes Miles represented Marsh in a professional liability claim based on the client’s alleged failure to obtain insurance that would protect its customers against business income losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.  We obtained a dismissal of our client finding that the insurance agent owed no duty to advise Adler about pandemic-related coverage.  That ruling was affirmed on appeal and, in its decision, the Fifth Circuit clarified that its 1990 decision in Offshore Prod. Contractors, Inc. v. Republic Underwriters Ins. Co., 910 F.2d 224 (5th Cir. 1990) “does not stand for the broad and murky proposition that a client’s ‘close relationship’ with an insurance agent or broker creates a ‘heightened duty’ to anticipate the client’s insurance needs or recommend specific coverage.”

• Rebekah Goodno v. Endurance American Specialty Ins. Co., et al., CA No. 21-30071 (US Fifth Cir. 9/24/2021), 2021 WL 4394961.  We represented a surplus lines insurance carrier in a coverage dispute following a Gasquet settlement by the underlying primary insurer.  The district court granted summary judgment in Endurance’s favor, finding that it did not insure one of eleven related entities that was liable for the accident.  The US Fifth Circuit affirmed that decision on appeal.

• Represented an excess carrier at trial in the defense of a traumatic brain injury claim arising out of physical altercation in the plaintiff's workplace.  The underlying primary carrier entered a Gasquet settlement with the plaintiff on the Saturday morning before trial.  We marshalled a trial team to take over defending the excess carrier’s coverage position and the insured’s liability under the Louisiana direct action statute in less than 48 hours and obtained a favorable settlement for our client after four days of trial.

• Successfully defended an insurance claims administrator in a final arbitration hearing for an arbitration filed by their property insurance company client.  The property insurer claimed that our client’s mishandling of several underlying property insurance claims caused the insurance carrier to become exposed to extra-contractual liability under the Louisiana bad faith statutes.  We obtained a very favorable result from the arbitrator for our client.  

• Represented an insurer under an Owner Controlled Insurance Program (“OCIP”) in multiple suits involving the allegedly defective construction and subsequent failed repairs of a series of multi-family residential projects in Texas, Florida, South Carolina, Arizona, Oregon, and Massachusetts

• Assisted a homeowners insurer in the investigation of a suspected arson claim and coordinated the insurer and adjusters’ response to subpoenas for information from local authorities.  Materials developed in the investigation and provided to authorities under an arson immunity letter were eventually used to support criminal charges for arson and insurance fraud against the insured.

• Represented an excess insurer of the general contractor in a direct-action trial and appeal arising out of the allegedly defective construction of a multi-family residential property in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  The jury returned a verdict against the insured that was within the limits of the primary insurer’s policy. That verdict was upheld on appeal.

• Represented a local school board in a liability action arising out of a former employee’s alleged sexual abuse of several elementary school students.  The court dismissed the plaintiff’s claims for past medical expenses for lack of evidence at the close of the plaintiff’s case in chief and awarded total damages that were substantially less than the plaintiff’s demand.

• Successfully defended a school board at trial and on appeal in a wrongful death and survival action arising out of a fatal collision between a school bus and an elementary school student.

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Education

• Tulane University Law School, J.D., cum laude, 2000

• Macalester College, B.A., cum laude, 1997

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Honors and Achievements

• Best Lawyers in America, 2024, 2025

• New Orleans Magazine Top Lawyers, 2022 (Insurance Law), 2023 (Commercial Litigation)

• Inside New Orleans Elite Lawyers, 2023

• Louisiana Super Lawyers: 2022-2024

• New Orleans CityBusiness, Leadership in Law, 2014

• Louisiana Super Lawyers, Rising Star 2010—2014, Honoree 2020, 2021

• Tulane Law School Moot Court—Administrative Justice for Invitational Competitions 1999-2000

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Publications & Speaking Engagements

• Co-Author, “Protecting the Queen from Policyholder Attack: Anticipating the Unexpected Consequences of Prolonged Business Closures,” DRI Fall 2020 In House Defense Quarterly

• Speaker at CLM Alliance (Claims and Litigation Management Alliance) Virtual Construction Conference on September 30, 2020

• “Selling Shovels in a Legal Gold Rush: Policyholder Advocates Swindle Insurers and Insureds to Cash In,” The Brief Case: DRI Committee News

• “Anticipating the Unexpected Consequences of Prolonged Business Closures,” DRI In-House Defense Quarterly - Fall 2020

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Admissions

• Louisiana

• Texas

• United States Supreme Court

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Memberships & Affiliations

• Defense Research Institute​

• The CLM