Court Consolidates Deere Right-to-Repair Cases

The majority of class-action lawsuits brought against John Deere over the right to repair farm equipment will be heard by a federal court in Illinois, according to an order issued by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.

 A 13th right-to-repair class-action lawsuit was filed earlier this month against John Deere, making 10 such lawsuits now in the U.S. District Court for the District of Northern Illinois.

All the cases allege John Deere violated the Sherman Act and seek damages for farmers who paid for repairs from John Deere dealers beginning on Jan. 12, 2018, to the present.

The cases allege the company has monopolized the repair service market for John Deere brand agricultural equipment with onboard central computers known as engine control units, or ECUs.

Source: Progressive Farmer – DTN