JPMorgan was denied A$31 million in fees it claimed from an Australian miner, after a judge ruled it could not take full credit for its work on a competitive takeover in 2008. The Wall Street bank received A$20 million, but said it was owed A$51 million.

Consolidated Minerals, JPMorgan’s client, first received a bid worth A$2.08 a share in 2006 from Pallinghurst Resources. It was eventually taken over for A$5 a share in 2008 by Palmary Resources, after a bidding war that also included Territory Resources.

JPMorgan had claimed a base defence fee of around A$10 million, plus an incentive fee based on the final offer. But Consolidated argued that the incentive should be based on the final offer from Pallinghurst, not the eventual winning bid.

JPMorgan said it believed there were strong grounds for an appeal and was assessing its response.

JPMorgan received full league-table credit for its role in the takeover of Consolidated by Palmary, according to Thomson Reuters data.

• Reuters story