John Deere has agreed to make the same repair tools used by its dealers available to farmers and independent repair shops “on fair and reasonable terms," under a proposed settlement filed Wednesday that seeks to end an antitrust lawsuit brought by the Federal Trade Commission and five state attorneys general.
Under the proposed agreement, Deere agreed to make available tools for reading and resetting electronic fault codes, reprogramming electronic components, restarting machines following emissions-related shutdowns, viewing technical manuals, troubleshooting solutions, and making other repairs available for farmers and independent repair shops (IRPs).
In addition, it would require the company to distribute future versions of repair resources to producers and IRPs after they become available to more than half of Deere’s authorized U.S. dealer network.
The agreement, if approved by U.S. District Judge Iain Johnston in Illinois’ Northern District, would last for 10 years.
“We’ve said from the beginning that our focus is on helping customers keep their machines running when and how they need them,” John Deere Vice President of Aftermarket and Customer Support Denver Caldwell said in a release. “This agreement bolsters that commitment, and we’re confident it will make a real difference for the people who depend on our equipment every day.”
FTC filed the lawsuit last January after a 3-2 commission vote, with now-chairman Andrew Ferguson and former commissioner Melissa Holyoak dissenting. At the time, Ferguson criticized the lawsuit's timing, arguing that parties had been in active discussions toward a solution and that the action “appears to be one taken in haste to beat President Trump into office, and lends to the suit the stench of partisan motivation.”
The lawsuit claimed that by limiting access to tools used to calibrate and reprogram internal software, the company forced farmers to pay more by using Deere-authorized repair shops. It also alleged the company had monopolized the repair services market by restricting access to the dealer version of Service ADVISOR, a key diagnostic repair tool.
Deere denied the allegations and launched a new Operations Center PRO service last year to replace Customer Service ADVISOR, which it planned to also make available to independent mechanics so long as they have the equipment owner's permission.
In a statement Wednesday, Ferguson said the agreement “provides real, tangible benefits to America’s farmers.” He said it not only requires Deere to provide electronic repair tools like its PRO Service to farmers and IRPs, but also prevents the company from "making tools technically available but pricing them in a manner that may make them functionally unavailable to farmers and IRPs.”
He also said it will extend to future versions of Deere repair software, and requires the company to submit compliance reports every 60 days during its initial repair resources rollout, along with yearly reports over 10 years. He said the company must report any complaints about the availability of repair resources as part of these reports, and inform the commission of plans to release any new repair tool to more than 50 percent of authorized dealers.
Ferguson said the agreement "restores competition by ensuring that farmers enjoy the right to repair their own equipment or can turn to IRPs to get the job done, rather than being dependent solely on Deere dealers; and it does so now rather than at some unspecified time in the future after further costly litigation.”
Ferguson’s statement was joined by commissioner Mark Meador.
Under the proposed settlement, Deere would also pay the plaintiff states $1 million for costs and attorneys’ fees. States on the lawsuit include Illinois, Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Earlier this year, Deere also agreed to pay $99 million and provide equipment owners with access to repair resources to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by farmers over the company’s repair practices. That settlement awaits final approval from Johnston, the judge overseeing both cases.
For more news, go to Agri-Pulse.com.
