By Ryan Hanrahan
Progressive Farmer’s Todd Neeley reported that “a federal court on Monday granted preliminary approval to John Deere’s proposed antitrust settlement with farmers who filed right-to-repair lawsuits, giving producers until September 2026 to file objections.”
“The U.S. District Court for the District of Northern Illinois on Monday granted preliminary approval to Deere’s proposed $99 million settlement to resolve numerous farmer-initiated lawsuits filed in 2022. Those lawsuits alleged the company monopolized the repair market by limiting farmers’ access to diagnostic tools for equipment they own,” Neeley reported. “The court found on Monday the proposed settlement meets all legal requirements and is likely to be granted final approval.”
“‘Subject to further consideration at the fairness hearing, the court finds that the settlement encompassed by the settlement agreement is fair, reasonable, adequate, and in the best interests of the settlement class, raises no obvious reasons to doubt its fairness, and raises a reasonable basis for presuming that the settlement and its terms satisfy the requirements of due process,’ the court said in its ruling,” according to Neeley’s reporting. “Producers have until Sept. 14, 2026, to object to the settlement ahead of a fairness hearing scheduled for Oct. 29, 2026.”
Reuters’ reported in early April that Deere had “agreed to pay $99 million into a settlement fund for farms and farmers that are part of a class action over costs and access to repairs. The case is part of broader scrutiny in the U.S. over so-called right-to-repair practices, with regulators and plaintiffs arguing that some manufacturers limit competition by controlling access to repair tools and software.”
Source : illinois.edu