Forest River Farms of Forest River, ND, has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Deere & Co. for allegedly “monopolizing the repair service market for John Deere (“Deere”) brand farm equipment with central computers integrated as engine control units or ‘ECUs’.”
The class action was filed in federal court in Chicago on January 12, 2022.
According to a report by Progressive Farmer on January 13, 2022, “Forest River Farms in Forest River, North Dakota, is seeking a jury trial and wants the court to order John Deere to provide individual farmers with the necessary software and repair shops.”
The lawsuit is also seeking damages for farmers who have paid for repairs from Deere dealers since January 12, 2018 to date, according to the lawsuit.
The complaint also notes that Forest River Farms owns 5 Deere tractors and 2 Deere combines that use ECUs.
The complaint states, “Deere’s monopoly in the market for Deere repair services allows Deere and dealerships to charge above-average prices for its services every time a piece of equipment needs the software to diagnose or complete a repair, and.” to raise. As a result, plaintiff and class members paid millions of dollars more for the repair services than they would have paid in a competitive market.”
The complaint also alleges that while Deere has demonstrated that farmers have the right to repair their own equipment, the manufacturer “misled the public as to how easy it is for farmers or independent repairers to make repairs.”
This lawsuit references two reports from Farm Equipment’s sister publication, Ag Equipment Intelligence:
The full complaint can be found here.
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