John Deere To Pay $99 Million In Monumental Right-To-Repair Settlement (thedrive.com)
(Wednesday April 08, 2026 @11:30PM (BeauHD)
from the legally-binding dept.)
- Reference: 0181425874
- News link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/04/08/2156254/john-deere-to-pay-99-million-in-monumental-right-to-repair-settlement
- Source link: https://www.thedrive.com/news/john-deere-to-pay-99-million-in-monumental-right-to-repair-settlement
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Drive:
> Farmers have been fighting John Deere for years over the right to repair their equipment, and this week, they finally reached a landmark settlement. While the agricultural manufacturing giant pointed out in a statement that this is no admission of wrongdoing, it [1]agreed to pay $99 million into a fund for farms and individuals who participated in a class action lawsuit. Specifically, that money is available to those involved who paid John Deere's authorized dealers for large equipment repairs from January 2018. This means that plaintiffs will recover somewhere between 26% and 53% of overcharge damages, according to [2]one of the court documents (PDF) -- far beyond the typical amount, which lands between 5% and 15%.
>
> The settlement also includes an agreement by Deere to provide "the digital tools required for the maintenance, diagnosis, and repair" of tractors, combines, and other machinery for 10 years. That part is crucial, as farmers previously resorted to hacking their own equipment's software just to get it up and running again. John Deere signed a memorandum of understanding in 2023 that partially addressed those concerns, providing third parties with the technology to diagnose and repair, as long as its intellectual property was safeguarded. Monday's settlement seems to represent a much stronger (and legally binding) step forward.
The report notes that a judge's approval of the settlement is still required but likely to happen. John Deere also [3]faces another lawsuit by the U.S. FTC , accusing the company of forcing farmers to use its authorized dealer network and driving up their costs for parts and repairs.
[1] https://www.thedrive.com/news/john-deere-to-pay-99-million-in-monumental-right-to-repair-settlement
[2] https://www.agri-pulse.com/ext/resources/pdfs/gov.uscourts.ilnd.415798.333.1.pdf
[3] https://yro.slashdot.org/story/25/06/12/165207/deere-must-face-ftcs-antitrust-lawsuit-over-repair-costs-us-judge-rules
> Farmers have been fighting John Deere for years over the right to repair their equipment, and this week, they finally reached a landmark settlement. While the agricultural manufacturing giant pointed out in a statement that this is no admission of wrongdoing, it [1]agreed to pay $99 million into a fund for farms and individuals who participated in a class action lawsuit. Specifically, that money is available to those involved who paid John Deere's authorized dealers for large equipment repairs from January 2018. This means that plaintiffs will recover somewhere between 26% and 53% of overcharge damages, according to [2]one of the court documents (PDF) -- far beyond the typical amount, which lands between 5% and 15%.
>
> The settlement also includes an agreement by Deere to provide "the digital tools required for the maintenance, diagnosis, and repair" of tractors, combines, and other machinery for 10 years. That part is crucial, as farmers previously resorted to hacking their own equipment's software just to get it up and running again. John Deere signed a memorandum of understanding in 2023 that partially addressed those concerns, providing third parties with the technology to diagnose and repair, as long as its intellectual property was safeguarded. Monday's settlement seems to represent a much stronger (and legally binding) step forward.
The report notes that a judge's approval of the settlement is still required but likely to happen. John Deere also [3]faces another lawsuit by the U.S. FTC , accusing the company of forcing farmers to use its authorized dealer network and driving up their costs for parts and repairs.
[1] https://www.thedrive.com/news/john-deere-to-pay-99-million-in-monumental-right-to-repair-settlement
[2] https://www.agri-pulse.com/ext/resources/pdfs/gov.uscourts.ilnd.415798.333.1.pdf
[3] https://yro.slashdot.org/story/25/06/12/165207/deere-must-face-ftcs-antitrust-lawsuit-over-repair-costs-us-judge-rules
Good! (Score:2)
Now lets bring these requirements into law, permanently, across all industrial and consumer devices.
Any obstacle to repair and maintenance other than the inherent difficulty of the operation is anticonsumerist and in the long run, economically damaging (and many of the inherent difficulties are as well, but we gotta start somewhere).