Morgan Stanley says it will appeal a US$600 million verdict that went against the firm in the suit brought against it by billionaire financier Ronald Perelman.

On Monday the Wall Street firm was slapped with a US$604.3 million award on claims from Perelman that Morgan Stanley helped defraud him in a 1998 business transaction

The suit stems from the sale ofPerelman’s stake in Coleman Inc. to Sunbeam Corp., a Morgan Stanley investment-banking client that became engulfed in an accounting scandal not long after the sale.

Morgan Stanley said it has multiple grounds on which to appeal, intends to pursue them to the fullest extent, and is confident the decision will be reversed. “The verdict, while disappointing, is not surprising, given the unprecedented and highly prejudicial rulings imposed by the trial judge,” the company said in a statement.

“Morgan Stanley was not permitted to defend itself on the merits. As a result, the jury heard allegations, instead of true facts, and Morgan Stanley was denied a fair trial,” it said. “Far from being part of the Sunbeam fraud, Morgan Stanley was a victim of that fraud, losing US$300 million when Sunbeam collapsed, one of the many true facts that the jury was not allowed to hear.”

In the second phase of the trial, the jury will consider whether punitive damages should be assessed. Morgan Stanley requested a full and fair hearing in that phase, but the trial judge denied that request. The firm says it believes that any award of punitive damages would be inappropriate and legally deficient.