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Deere Settles Lawsuit With FTC, States Over Equipment Repair Restrictions
Summary
Deere & Co. has agreed to settle a lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission and five states that accused the company of illegally limiting who could repair its farm equipment. The settlement requires Deere to grant farmers and independent shops access to the same repair resources as its authorized dealers.
Deere & Co. agreed on Wednesday to settle a lawsuit brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and five U.S. states. The suit, filed in January 2025, accused the agricultural equipment manufacturer of illegally requiring farmers to use its network of authorized dealers for repairs, thereby creating a monopoly over the service of its products.
Under the terms of the proposed settlement, which awaits approval from a federal judge in Illinois, Deere will provide farmers and independent repair providers with access to the same diagnostic tools and repair resources available to its authorized dealers for a period of 10 years. The company will also pay $1 million to cover the legal costs for the participating states: Illinois, Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. As part of the agreement, Deere did not admit or deny wrongdoing.
In a statement, Deere said the settlement reinforces its long-standing commitment to expanding customer access and repair flexibility. This agreement follows a separate $99 million settlement in April related to a private class-action lawsuit on similar grounds.
AdThe FTC stated that the settlement aims to reduce costs for American farmers and restore their ability to choose how and where their equipment is serviced. Daniel Guarnera, director of the FTC's competition bureau, said the agreement “enables farmers to do what they’ve done for generations—fix their own tractors and other farm equipment—without having to pay an authorized John Deere dealer to do it.”