April 6 (Reuters) - U.S. agriculture equipment maker Deere on Monday 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.
The settlement fund covers eligible plaintiffs who paid Deere’s authorized
dealers for repairs to large agricultural equipment from January 2018, according to a document filed on Monday in the federal court in Chicago, Illinois.
In the settlement, Deere also agreed to make available to farmers for 10 years "the digital tools required for the maintenance, diagnosis, and repair" of large agricultural equipment, including tractors, combines, and sugarcane harvesters, the filing showed.
The proposed accord requires a judge's approval.
"This settlement addresses the issues raised in the 2022 complaint and brings this case to an end with no finding of wrongdoing," Deere said in a separate statement.
Deere also faces a separate lawsuit brought by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. A U.S. judge ruled in 2025 that Deere must face that lawsuit, which accused the company of forcing farmers to use its authorized dealer network and driving up their costs for parts and repairs.
Deere is blocking farmers from acquiring the "tools and information necessary to repair their equipment in a timely and cost-effective manner," the FTC had said in a court filing in April. Deere has denied the wrongdoing.
(Reporting by Carlos Méndez, Mrinmay Dey in Mexico City and Mike Scarcella in Washington; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Lincoln Feast.)
