Morgan Stanley must pay billionaire investor Ronald Perelman $850 million in punitive damages based on his claims that the firm defrauded him as part of the 1998 sale of his controlling stake in Coleman to Sunbeam.

Jurors in state court in West Palm Beach, Fla., deliberated for less than a day before finding that Morgan Stanley, a Sunbeam adviser, should be punished for misrepresenting its client’s financial health to Mr. Perelman. On May 16, the same jury awarded the financier $604.3 million in actual damages over his losses in the deal.

“This court has done a great injustice to the employees and shareholders of Morgan Stanley,” Morgan Stanley’s chief executive, Philip J. Purcell, said in a statement. “We will fight to have this decision overturned.”

The combined verdict of $1.45 billion is the second-largest jury award this year. Mr. Perelman sought $680 million in actual damages and three times that in punitive damages for a total demand of $2.72 billion. Getting $604.3 million in actual damages made him eligible for a punitive award of as much as $1.81 billion under Florida law.

The decision is another setback for Mr. Purcell, who has been criticized for a March 28 management shakeup that has helped push shares of the world’s largest securities firm by market value down about 12%.

Morgan Stanley has litigation reserves of $360 million for this suit. In a May 17 filing, the firm said it would “reassess” its reserve level as a result of the jury’s May 16 decision.

Under Florida law, Morgan Stanley must begin paying about $250,000 a day in interest on the verdict starting yesterday, Jack Scarola, a lawyer for Mr. Perelman, said. That doesn’t take into account pre-verdict interest that may be tacked onto the award, he added. Judge Elizabeth Maass hasn’t ruled yet whether pre-judgment interest is warranted in the case.

Mr. Scarola said the size of the verdict might prompt Morgan Stanley to settle the case before its appeal is done.

Mr. Perelman, who owned 82% of camping-equipment maker Coleman, alleges that Morgan Stanley conspired with Sunbeam officials to mislead him about the consumer-products maker’s sales in 1997 and 1998 to get him to sell Coleman. Mr. Perelman contends that former Sunbeam CEO Albert Dunlap sought to conceal accounting fraud at Sunbeam by acquiring Coleman.

Mr. Perelman, chairman of cosmetics maker Revlon, sold his Coleman stake for $160 million in cash, more than $500 million in assumed debt and 14.1 million shares of Sunbeam stock.

The value of those shares plummeted after revelations in the spring of 1998 that Sunbeam had inflated sales figures and misstated revenue. Sunbeam filed for bankruptcy protection in 2001, rending Mr. Perelman’s shares worthless.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Perelman, Christine Taylor, said: “Once again we are grateful for the hard work and attention of the jury to the facts in this case. This award should send a clear message to Morgan Stanley about what constitutes professional and ethical behavior.”