- John Deere Agrees to Pay $99 Million in Class Action Lawsuit
- Lawsuit covers farmers’ right to repair on their own equipment
- You must also make your tools available to third parties for 10 years.
Agricultural giant John Deere could face a significant bill following the apparent end of a long-running lawsuit over the right to repair its farm equipment.
The company agreed to pay a “landmark settlement” of $99 million to a fund for farms and individuals who participated in a class-action lawsuit against it.
John Deere will also have to ensure its digital diagnostics, maintenance and repair tools are available to third parties for 10 years, after some farmers were reportedly forced to hack their own equipment in an attempt to resolve problems.
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Right to repair
“As we continue to innovate industry-leading equipment and technology solutions supported by our world-class dealer network, we are equally committed to providing customers and other service providers with access to repair resources,” said Denver Caldwell, the company’s vice president of aftersales and customer support.
“We are pleased that this resolution allows us to move forward and remain focused on what matters most: serving our customers.”
The payment, which must still be approved by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, will be available specifically to involved claimants who paid authorized John Deere dealers for large equipment repairs beginning in January 2018.
It will allow them to recover between 26% and 53% of damages for overcharges, court documents state, much more than typical payouts in these types of lawsuits.
Right to repair lawsuits have been increasingly common in recent years, primarily among customers of technology products such as laptops and smartphones, and several US states, including Oregon and California, have also passed similar laws.
This led Apple to announce its support in a move that surprised many, making it much easier (and cheaper) to repair broken iPhones or MacBooks outside of official Apple stores.
Even the U.S. military has supported the idea, with both Democrats and Republicans backing a May 2025 measure to allow the military the right to repair its own equipment.
The European Union has its Right to Repair Directive coming into force on 31 July 2026, which will mean manufacturers will have to legally include access to spare parts, repair manuals and remove technical or contractual barriers to independent repair. It will also seek to reduce so-called “parts matching,” where software-side “matching” of components can sabotage third-party exchanges, such as a printer rejecting a refilled ink cartridge.
Through The trip
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