JPMorgan told to pay Blavatnik $42.5 million over mortgage losses

A New York state judge has ordered JPMorgan Chase & Co to pay the billionaire Leonard Blavatnik $42.5 million plus interest, finding the bank liable for breach of contract after it was accused of mismanaging an investment account by betting on risky mortgage securities.

In a decision made public on Monday, New York State Supreme Court Justice Melvin Schweitzer also said the largest U.S. bank was not liable on a negligence claim.

Blavatnik had sought to recover more than $100 million that he said the bank lost on his original investment of roughly $1 billion.

Schweitzer ruled about seven months after conducting a three-week non-jury trial.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Gary Hill)