Bio

John Cottle has practiced law in Florida and Alabama for over 35 years and has established a record of excellence in complex commercial and personal injury litigation as well as in business and real estate transactions. Since coming to Becker & Poliakoff in 2007, his practice has focused on litigation of real estate and business disputes, representation of condominiums and community associations, director and officer liability, and general civil litigation. He has over 40 reported cases in the state and federal reporters and has tried more than 50 jury cases to a verdict, including the recent case of Shores of Panama Resort Community Association v. Halberthal, et al in which he obtained a verdict of over $11.9 million for his client. He has spoken on, and published articles on, a wide variety of topics including the fiduciary duty owed by community association directors and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He is an active member of the Community Association Institute and regularly teaches board certification courses for directors of condominium and homeowner associations. Mr. Cottle is board certified in Civil Trial Law by the Florida Bar and is considered an expert in the area. He is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, with a peer review rating of 5 out of 5, the highest rating given by that organization.