Key Highlights
- John Deere establishes a $99 million compensation fund to resolve right-to-repair allegations
- Eligible farmers who used authorized dealerships for equipment repairs since January 2018 can claim funds
- Company commits to making diagnostic tools, repair manuals, and software available for a 10-year period
- Deere maintains the agreement includes “no finding of wrongdoing”
- Federal Trade Commission’s parallel lawsuit remains unresolved
John Deere & Co has reached a settlement agreement in a class action lawsuit concerning equipment repair access, establishing a $99 million compensation fund for farmers while committing to provide repair resources 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 compensates qualified plaintiffs who utilized Deere’s authorized dealership network for agricultural equipment repairs dating back to January 2018.
According to Deere’s statement, the settlement “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 settlement terms, Deere has pledged to provide digital repair resources to both farmers and independent repair shops for a full decade. This encompasses diagnostic tools, technical manuals, and software necessary for servicing large-scale machinery including tractors, combines, and sugarcane harvesting equipment.
The lawsuit’s central allegation claimed Deere restricted equipment repair options, forcing farmers to depend on its authorized dealer network and thereby increasing maintenance expenses.
Settlement Terms and Provisions
The $99 million compensation pool will be allocated among qualifying class members — agricultural operations and individual farmers who meet eligibility criteria based on dealer network repair expenditures since January 2018.
The repair resource commitment extends well beyond monetary compensation. Deere must provide farmers and independent service providers with complete “digital tools required for the maintenance, diagnosis, and repair” of its large-scale agricultural machinery for ten years.
This provision addresses a central concern from plaintiffs and repair rights advocates, who contended that restricting repair access to authorized dealers established an unfair control over maintenance costs.
Throughout the legal proceedings, Deere has maintained its position that no wrongdoing occurred.
Federal Trade Commission Litigation Continues
This settlement doesn’t conclude all legal challenges facing Deere.
A distinct lawsuit initiated by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission continues in federal court. In 2025, a judge determined that Deere must defend itself against accusations of compelling farmers to use its authorized dealer network, resulting in inflated repair expenses.
The FTC alleged in legal filings that 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 claims as well.
While the class action settlement concludes the private litigation initiated with the 2022 complaint, the FTC’s case proceeds independently as an unresolved legal matter.
