In Memoriam – John Cottle, (1952-2018)

Office Managing Shareholder, Ft. Walton Beach

Ft. Walton Beach , Florida

John Cottle focuses his practice on litigation involving complex real estate and business disputes, representing condominiums and community associations, and director and officer liability. A seasoned litigator, John has tried more than 50 jury cases to a verdict. In February of 2016, in the case of Shores of Panama Resort Community Association v. Halberthal, et al, he obtained a jury verdict of over $11.9 million for his client based on breach of fiduciary duty claims. More recently, in the spring of 2017, he headed a team of lawyers in a trial in Hudson County, New Jersey, that resulted in a $10 million jury verdict in favor of the firm’s condominium association client and against a developer and architect for claims based on construction defects and violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act.

John has spoken and published on a wide variety of topics including the fiduciary obligation owed by community association directors and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and its implication for coastal condominium associations. He is an active member of the Community Association Institute and regularly teaches board certification courses for directors of condominium and homeowner associations. John 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. He is also the author of an award-winning short story collection, The Blessings of Hard-Used Angels.

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