Key Takeaways
- John Deere will contribute $99 million to a settlement fund addressing right-to-repair allegations
- Eligible farmers who paid authorized dealers for equipment repairs since January 2018 can claim compensation
- The company commits to providing digital diagnostic tools, repair manuals, and software for a 10-year period
- Deere maintains the settlement involves “no finding of wrongdoing” by the company
- An independent Federal Trade Commission lawsuit against Deere continues in federal court
John Deere & Co has reached an agreement to resolve a class action lawsuit concerning equipment repair restrictions, establishing a $99 million compensation fund for impacted farmers while committing to provide repair tool access for the next ten years.
Court documents submitted Monday to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois outline the settlement terms. The agreement applies to qualifying plaintiffs who utilized Deere’s authorized dealer network for large agricultural equipment repairs beginning in January 2018.
According to Deere’s statement, the agreement “addresses the issues raised in the 2022 complaint and brings this case to an end with no finding of wrongdoing.”
Judicial approval is required before the settlement becomes final.
Under the terms, Deere has pledged to make digital repair resources available to both farmers and independent service technicians for a full decade. This encompasses access to specialized tools, technical manuals, and diagnostic software for large-scale equipment including tractors, combine harvesters, and sugarcane harvesting machinery.
Plaintiffs argued that Deere artificially restricted repair options by channeling farmers exclusively toward its authorized dealer network, resulting in inflated maintenance and repair expenses.
Settlement Terms and Compensation Structure
The $99 million compensation pool will be allocated among eligible class members — agricultural operations and individual farmers who meet qualification criteria based on repair expenditures through Deere’s dealer network from January 2018 forward.
The repair tool access provision extends beyond monetary compensation. Deere must provide customers and independent repair facilities with comprehensive “digital tools required for the maintenance, diagnosis, and repair” of its large agricultural machinery throughout the 10-year period.
This access component represented a critical objective for plaintiffs and right-to-repair advocacy groups, who contended that restricting repair capabilities to authorized dealers established an unjust monopoly over equipment servicing expenses.
Throughout the litigation process, Deere has maintained its position that it engaged in no improper conduct.
Federal Trade Commission Litigation Continues
This settlement does not conclude all legal challenges facing Deere regarding repair practices.
A distinct lawsuit initiated by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission remains active in the court system. In 2025, a federal judge determined that Deere must proceed to trial in that case, which alleges the company compelled farmers to use its authorized dealer network while artificially inflating repair costs.
According to FTC court submissions, Deere prevented farmers from obtaining the “tools and information necessary to repair their equipment in a timely and cost-effective manner.”
Deere has rejected these accusations as well.
The class action settlement concludes the private litigation initiated through a 2022 complaint. However, the FTC’s enforcement action proceeds independently as a distinct legal matter.
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