Washington-based Watson Wyatt & Co Holdings has been ordered to pay at least $32m (€34.2m) in damages to the $160m Connecticut Carpenters' Pension Fund in a malpractice suit.

A Connecticut federal court found Watson Wyatt guilty last Friday of negligence, malpractice and breach of contract in the calculation of the fund's liabilities during the early to mid-1990s. The US firm, which is allied with UK actuaries and consultants Watson Wyatt Partners, launched its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in October last year.