“A federal court on Monday granted preliminary approval to John Deere’s proposed antitrust settlement with farmers who filed right-to-repair lawsuits, giving producers until September 2026 to file objections,” reported Progressive Farmer’s Todd Neeley.
“The U.S. District Court for the District of Northern Illinois on Monday granted preliminary approval to Deere’s proposed $99 million settlement to resolve numerous farmer-initiated lawsuits filed in 2022. Those lawsuits alleged the company monopolized the repair market by limiting farmers’ access to diagnostic tools for equipment they own,” Neeley reported. “The court found on Monday the proposed settlement meets all legal requirements and is likely to be granted final approval.”
“‘Subject to further consideration at the fairness hearing, the court finds that the settlement encompassed by the settlement agreement is fair, reasonable, adequate, and in the best interests of the settlement class, raises no obvious reasons to doubt its fairness, and raises a reasonable basis for presuming that the settlement and its terms satisfy the requirements of due process,’ the court said in its ruling,” according to Neeley’s reporting. “Producers have until Sept. 14, 2026, to object to the settlement ahead of a fairness hearing scheduled for Oct. 29, 2026.”
Reuters’ reported in early April that Deere had “agreed to pay $99 million into a settlement fund for farms and farmers that are part of a class action over costs and access to repairs. The case is part of broader scrutiny in the U.S. over so-called right-to-repair practices, with regulators and plaintiffs arguing that some manufacturers limit competition by controlling access to repair tools and software.”
“The settlement fund covers eligible plaintiffs who paid Deere’s authorized dealers for repairs to large agricultural equipment from January 2018, according to a document filed on Monday in the federal court in Chicago, Illinois,” Reuters reported at the time. “In the settlement, Deere also agreed to make available to farmers for 10 years ‘the digital tools required for the maintenance, diagnosis, and repair’ of large agricultural equipment, including tractors, combines, and sugarcane harvesters, the filing showed.”
Deere now also facing right-to-repair suit in construction equipment
At the same time, the Wall Street Journal’s Bob Tita reported that “a Chicago landscaping contractor sued Deere [last] Thursday in U.S. District Court in Illinois, accusing the company of many of the same antitrust violations alleged in a recently-settled $99 million lawsuit filed by farmers.”
“Repair-rights advocates hope to elevate the new complaint to class-action status, which potentially would allow thousands of owners of Deere construction and forestry equipment to join as plaintiffs,” Tita reported. “The landscaper, Christy Webber & Co., accused Deere of unfairly restricting what owners or independent mechanics can fix on the company’s machines.”
“The main issue in the suit is the same as in the farm equipment case: that Deere restricts access to the software to repair construction and forestry equipment, forcing machine owners to use authorized, franchised dealers for fixes. The practice allows dealers to charge high prices for service and replacement parts, the suit said,” Tita reported. “‘Deere dealers have exclusive access to the necessary software and information that allow for diagnosis and completion of all repairs,’ the complaint said. ‘In so doing, Deere has prevented meaningful competition from those construction and forestry equipment owners who otherwise could repair equipment themselves and from independent repair providers.’”
“Deere said Friday it was still assessing the complaint but supports customers who want to do their own repairs,” Tita reported. “‘Farmers, contractors and operators should be able to fix their equipment. In fact, our customers depend on it,’ a Deere spokeswoman said.”
This article originally appeared on Farmers Advance: Deere right-to-repair settlement gets preliminary approval
Reporting by Ryan Hanrahan, Farmers’ Advance / Farmers Advance
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
