Morgan Stanley to pay $1.4 billion

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Morgan Stanley must pay billionaire financier Ron Perelman more than $1.4 billion in damages, awarded by a jury that said it found clear evidence the investment firm acted fraudulently in Perelman's 1998 sale of his Coleman camping gear company to Sunbeam Corp.

The jury deliberated for nearly four hours Wednesday before deciding on $850 million in punitive damages. On Monday, the same jury awarded Perelman compensatory damages of $604.3 million.

Perelman, the Revlon cosmetics chief, had sought $1.8 billion in punitive damages. Florida law limited jurors to that amount, or triple the amount of compensatory damages.

"This award should send a clear message to Morgan Stanley about what constitutes professional and ethical behavior," Perelman's company said in a statement.

Morgan Stanley plans to appeal and pledged that the verdict would not impede business.