Ameriquest to pay 20,000 Mass. borrowers $13.75m

THE REGION

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said Ameriquest Mortgage Co. and its affiliates would pay 20,000 borrowers in the state $13.75 million in restitution as part of a $325 million national settlement of predatory lending charges reached last year. That amount is slightly higher than the $12.2 million Massachusetts officials had previously estimated was due. Coakley's office said it began sending letters and claim forms to eligible Massachusetts consumers who got loans between January 1999 and December 2005. Ameriquest companies in the settlement also included Town and Country Credit Corp. and AMC Mortgage Services, the state said. (Kimberly Blanton)

American Medical Systems Holdings Inc., a maker of devices used in urological treatments, sued Biolitec AG's US unit, claiming infringement of a patent on a way of treating enlarged prostate using a laser. The complaint was filed June 14 in federal court in Springfield. Biolitec Inc.'s Evolve SLV laser system infringes at least one US patent relating to the use of a laser to treat patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia, more commonly called enlarged prostate, American Medical said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Bloomberg)

Boston biopharmaceutical company Point Therapeutics Inc. said it has reduced its workforce from 33 employees to eight as it contemplates a sale or a possible bankruptcy as it looks to conserve cash. The lead product candidate is talabostat, a potential treatment for cancer. The company said it plans to further reduce its workforce and replace employees with a consulting team as it "seeks a buyer or partner for its technology and related intellectual property and other assets, in bankruptcy or otherwise." (Chris Reidy)

THE NATION

Jones Apparel Group Inc. said Peter Boneparth resigned as chief executive and president, almost a year after he failed to sell the whole company. He was replaced by chief financial officer Wesley Card. Jones stock has dropped by almost a third since Boneparth, a former investment banker, took the helm five years ago. The company in February reported its first annual loss in at least 17 years and a month later said it wouldn't retain Boneparth after his contract expired in 2009. It also denied him a 2006 bonus. (Bloomberg)

Walgreen Co. will pay $20 million to settle a federal lawsuit alleging widespread racial bias at the nation's largest drugstore chain under the terms of a proposed deal. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the class-action lawsuit in March, alleging that Walgreen discriminated against thousands of black workers in hiring and assignment decisions. The settlement deal still needs a judge's approval, but both the EEOC and Walgreen have agreed to it. Walgreen chief executive Jeffrey A. Rein said, "We are pleased to reach a resolution that is consistent with our past and future diversity and equal opportunity objectives." (AP)

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has settled a wrongful death lawsuit claiming a pharmacist at a Frederick, Md., store sold a too-strong insulin drug to a diabetic man who died after taking it, the company's lawyer said. Terms of the settlement are confidential, attorney Christopher R. Dunn said. He said the case was settled amicably, with no admission of liability or fault by anyone. A Wal-Mart spokesman said, "This was the best way to resolve the matter." (AP)

THE WORLD

Nintendo Co. is increasing production of the top-selling Wii video-game console to avoid shortages in the United States during the holiday season. Nintendo expects demand for Wii, which already sells out soon after arriving in stores, to increase during the shopping period that begins in November, said Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America Inc. The company has shipped 2.8 million Wiis to the United States since its introduction in November, he said. (Bloomberg)