Boston Scientific settles Guidant suits for $195 million

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX.N) said on Friday it will pay $195 million to settle numerous legal claims related to the recall of implantable heart defibrillators made by Guidant Corp., which it acquired last year.

The agreement includes about 4,000 claims from individuals that have been consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

That court has been overseeing the product-liability lawsuits against the company, whose Guidant unit allegedly continued to sell heart rhythm-management devices after learning of possible defects.

Guidant recalled more than 100,000 of the products between 2005 and 2006.

As a result of the agreement, the company said trials in the bellwether cases in the larger group scheduled to start on July 30 have been suspended pending implementation of the agreement.

(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein)