Argentina suffered a legal defeat on Friday as a U.S. judge ruled against the country in a dispute with minority shareholders of YPF arising from the country's 2012 seizure of a majority stake in the oil and gas company.

U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska in Manhattan ruled in favor of Burford Capital, which funded the litigation brought by shareholders Petersen Energia Inversora and Eton Park Capital Management LP, and according to court papers was entitled to a respective 70% and 75% of their damages.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston and Jonathan Stempel in New York)