Key Points
- Deere & Co establishes $99 million compensation fund to resolve right-to-repair litigation
- Settlement benefits farmers who utilized authorized dealerships for equipment repairs since January 2018
- Company commits to decade-long availability of diagnostic software, repair manuals, and digital tools
- Deere emphasizes settlement includes “no finding of wrongdoing”
- Federal Trade Commission lawsuit against the company continues independently
John Deere has reached an agreement to resolve a class action lawsuit concerning equipment repair restrictions, establishing a $99 million compensation fund for farmers while committing to provide repair tool access for the next ten years.
Court documents filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois outline the settlement terms. The agreement applies to qualifying plaintiffs who purchased repair services from Deere’s authorized dealer network for large farming machinery dating back to 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 provide farmers and independent repair shops with digital diagnostic tools for a full decade. This encompasses access to repair manuals, diagnostic software, and specialized tools needed for large agricultural machinery including tractors, combines, and sugarcane harvesters.
Plaintiffs alleged that Deere artificially restricted equipment repair options, forcing farmers to rely on its authorized dealer network and consequently inflating service expenses.
Settlement Terms Breakdown
The $99 million settlement pool will compensate class members — agricultural operations and individual farmers who meet eligibility requirements based on dealer repair expenditures since January 2018.
The repair access provision extends beyond monetary compensation. Deere must provide customers and independent technicians with “digital tools required for the maintenance, diagnosis, and repair” of its large agricultural machinery for ten years.
This represented a central demand from both plaintiffs and right-to-repair advocacy groups, who maintained that restricting repair capabilities to authorized dealers created an unfair service monopoly.
Throughout the legal proceedings, Deere has maintained its position that no improper conduct occurred.
Federal Trade Commission Litigation Continues
This settlement doesn’t conclude all of Deere’s legal challenges.
A distinct lawsuit initiated by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission remains active. In 2025, a federal judge determined that Deere must proceed with defending that case, which alleges the company compelled farmers to use its authorized dealer network, artificially elevating repair expenses.
According to FTC court documentation, Deere prevented farmers from obtaining the “tools and information necessary to repair their equipment in a timely and cost-effective manner.”
Deere has disputed these claims as well.
The class action settlement concludes the private litigation initiated with a 2022 complaint. The FTC proceeding continues as a separate legal matter.
