John Deere to Pay $99 Million to Settle Right-to-Repair Lawsuit Over Farm Equipment

Agricultural equipment manufacturer Deere & Company has agreed to pay $99 million to resolve a class action lawsuit accusing the company of limiting farmers’ ability to repair their equipment and increasing maintenance costs. The proposed settlement, filed in federal court in Chicago, would also require Deere to expand access to repair systems and software for the next decade.

The agreement applies to farmers and agricultural businesses who paid authorized dealers for repairs on large equipment, including tractors and combines, starting in January 2018, according to court filings. Those who qualify may receive payments from the settlement fund if the deal is approved by a federal judge.

As part of the settlement, Deere agreed to make available the digital systems needed to diagnose, maintain, and repair its equipment for 10 years. The tools include software and diagnostic programs previously limited to the company’s authorized dealer network.

Farmers who brought the case claim Deere’s policies left them with few options outside of authorized dealers. The complaint alleges that restricting access to technical repair information made it difficult for farmers or independent mechanics to service equipment, particularly during time-sensitive planting and harvesting periods.

The case focuses on whether those restrictions limited competition in the market for equipment repairs. Under U.S. antitrust law, companies are not allowed to use control over their products to block fair competition in related services, such as repairs or replacement parts. Courts reviewing these claims examine whether those limits reduced farmers’ ability to choose how and where to repair their equipment and whether that led to higher prices.

The lawsuit is part of ongoing scrutiny over right-to-repair practices across several industries. The issue focuses on whether consumers and businesses can repair their own products or use independent providers rather than being limited to manufacturer-controlled networks.

Deere & Company, which operates under the John Deere brand, is one of the largest agricultural equipment manufacturers in the world, producing tractors, harvesters, and other machinery used across the U.S. farming sector. Its equipment relies on integrated software systems, which have become a central point of dispute in repair-related cases.

Deere said the agreement does not include any admission of wrongdoing.

The company also faces a separate lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission, which alleges it forced farmers to rely on its dealer network for repairs, increasing costs for parts and services. A federal judge allowed that case to proceed in 2025. Deere has denied the allegations.