Lawmakers File Right-to-Repair, Suits Continue

Plum Ridge Farms, Ltd., in Elizabeth, Ill., has filed a complaint in the Northern District of Illinois against Deere & Co. for the alleged monopolization of the repair service market.

This complaint, like others recently filed, argues that the engine control units, or ECUs, force farmers to have their products serviced at Deere licensed mechanics and dealerships. In the past, the complaint said, farmers previously had the ability to repair their own tractors and mowers but now are not allowed to have “access to the same software and repair tools the dealerships have,” allegedly creating a monopoly.

In related news, U.S. lawmakers recently introduced separate right-to-repair legislation. U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) introduced one of the bills. The other came from Rep. Mondaire Jones Rep. (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) The second bill was dubbed the Freedom to Repair Act.

Rush’s bill would require all tools and equipment, wireless transmission of repair and diagnostic data and access to on-board diagnostic systems needed for repairs be made available to the independent repair industry.

Sources: Law Street, Reuters