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 NEW YORK (AP) - Morgan Stanley Inc. on Wednesday won a reversal of a $1.58 billion verdict handed to billionaire Ron Perelman for misleading him in a deal to sell Coleman Co. to Sunbeam Corp. The Florida Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach ruled that the New York-based investment bank was punished unfairly for destroying e-mails involved in the transaction. The latest decision will be appealed in a case that could end up in the Florida Supreme Court.
Perelman, the chairman of cosmetics giant Revlon Inc., accused Morgan Stanley of conspiring with client Sunbeam to mislead him about the company's financial health. Because of this, he sold camping supplies maker Coleman Co. to Sunbeam in 1998 — months before Sunbeam restated earnings and ahead of its 2001 bankruptcy.
After the 2-1 vote, Judge Carole Y. Taylor wrote in her opinion that because there was no proof at trial on the correct measure of damages, the final judgment for compensatory damages should be reversed.
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