John Deere’s $99 Million Settlement Reveals a Much Bigger Problem

The ‘Right to Repair’ movement has long complained about Deere’s business practices.

BY LEILA SHERIDAN, NEWS WRITER

For years, farmers have argued that fixing their own equipment has become nearly impossible. Now, one of the biggest names in agriculture is paying $99 million to settle claims tied to that fight.

Deere & Co. has agreed to settle a 2022 lawsuit that accused the company of monopolizing repair services for its agricultural equipment. The proposed deal, which still requires final court approval, would resolve allegations that Deere withheld critical repair software and worked with authorized dealers to steer customers away from independent or self-service repairs, AP News reported.

Undergirding the case is Deere’s role in not only selling farmers equipment but also locking them into a costly repair system. 

Lawsuit Follows Years of Complaints

According to the plaintiffs, Deere’s practices created an “unlawfully restrained” market that allowed the company and its dealer network to charge higher, “supracompetitive” prices for repairs, per court filings, according to AP News. Without access to the necessary diagnostic tools and software, farmers often had little choice but to rely on authorized dealerships.

How Anthropic's Claude AI Became a Co-Founder

Modern farm equipment relies heavily on sensors and firmware to function. When something goes wrong, error codes appear, but interpreting them often requires proprietary software. According to the lawsuit, Deere refuses to share that software with farmers, NBC News reported. 

Deere, however, has denied any wrongdoing. In announcing the settlement Monday, the company said it remains committed to supporting customers’ ability to repair their own equipment. It agreed to the deal “to move forward and remain focused on what matters most — serving our customers,” Denver Caldwell, the company’s vice president of aftermarket and customer support, said in a statement, AP News reported.

If approved, the agreement would create a $99 million fund for farmers and other class members who paid Deere or its authorized dealers for certain repairs between January 10, 2018, and the date of preliminary approval. The settlement also includes injunctive relief aimed at expanding access to repair tools and diagnostic resources, according to AP News.

© Inc.com