Deere & Company has agreed to pay $99 million to resolve a class-action antitrust case brought by farmers who paid Deere-authorized dealers for repairs on large agricultural equipment. If you bought repair services from John Deere or an authorized dealership between January 10, 2018, and May 18, 2026, you are likely a class member in the John Deere $99 million settlement, and you have until October 15, 2026, to submit a claim.
Who Qualifies as a Class Member
The settlement class covers any person or entity in the United States that purchased repair services for Deere Large Agricultural Equipment from John Deere or an authorized dealership between January 10, 2018, and May 18, 2026, the date the court granted preliminary approval. You do not need to still own the equipment to file.
Covered machines include the 6000, 7000, 8000, and 9000 series models of tractors, combines, cotton pickers, sugarcane harvesters, sprayers, planters, and application equipment that rely on electronic control units. Repairs performed by independent shops or by the farmer are not the basis for a claim; the settlement compensates overcharges paid to Deere or its authorized dealer network. Construction and forestry equipment is not part of this settlement.
What the Settlement Pays
Deere is depositing $99 million into a settlement fund, an amount expected to exceed $100 million by the time of distribution because of accruing interest. The fund covers well over 200,000 farmers, according to the settlement memorandum. Expert analysis cited in court filings estimated total overcharge damages in the range of $190 million to $387.3 million, making the recovery roughly 26 to 53 percent of estimated damages.
Individual payouts will be calculated based on overcharges tied to repair labor hours billed by Deere’s authorized dealers. Before that math runs, the fund is reduced by attorney fees, payments to the lead plaintiffs, litigation expenses, and the cost of administering and publicizing the settlement. The remaining balance is divided among eligible farmers who submit timely claims.
Repair Access for Ten Years
The agreement is not only monetary. For ten years, Deere must make digital repair resources available to every owner, lessee, and independent repair provider of its large agricultural equipment on “fair and reasonable terms.” Those resources include diagnostic software, repair manuals, and troubleshooting information through Deere’s Dealer Technical Assistance Center (DTAC). Farmers will also be able to perform diagnostics and reprogramming through the Deere Operations Center PRO Service, a platform Deere launched in August 2025 as a replacement for the older Customer Service ADVISOR tool. When Deere rolls out new repair resources, they must reach farmers and independent shops once more than half of Deere’s licensed dealerships have access.
How to File a Claim
The claims portal at www.DeereRepairSettlement.com is expected to go live during the summer of 2026. Deere has given the settlement administrator access to its internal billing database to help identify and notify class members, and many farmers will receive pre-filled notices with specific instructions.
To support your claim, gather the following before you file:
- Itemized dealer service invoices, ideally breaking out labor rates and parts costs separately.
- Proof of payment, such as receipts, bank statements, or credit card statements showing payment was made.
- Equipment identification, including Product Identification Numbers (PINs) or serial numbers for each piece of equipment serviced.
If your records are incomplete, the pre-filled notice from the administrator may already reflect the repair charges Deere has on file for your accounts. Reviewing that notice against your own invoices is the fastest way to confirm what you’re being credited for.
Key Deadlines
Three dates matter for anyone in the class:
- September 15, 2026: Last day to opt out of the settlement or file a written objection with the court. Opting out preserves your right to sue Deere separately; staying in the class means you’re bound by the settlement and give up those individual claims.
- October 15, 2026: Deadline to submit a claim through the settlement portal.
- October 29, 2026: Fairness hearing before U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston in Rockford, Illinois. The judge will hear any objections before deciding whether to grant final approval. Payments cannot be distributed until final approval.
What the Case Was About
The litigation began in January 2022, when Forest River Farms, a North Dakota farming operation, filed a class-action complaint alleging Deere violated Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act by monopolizing the repair market for its equipment. As Deere’s tractors, combines, and harvesters became increasingly computerized, plaintiffs said, the company restricted access to the proprietary diagnostic software needed to fix them, funneling repair business to authorized dealers and inflating costs for farmers who had no alternative.
Central to the case was a tool called Service ADVISOR, Deere’s fully functional diagnostic software. Plaintiffs alleged Deere provided this tool exclusively to authorized dealers while offering farmers and independent shops only an inferior version, Customer Service ADVISOR, that couldn’t perform all necessary repairs. Unlike automakers, plaintiffs said, Deere also refused to share the technical information that would let third parties build competing diagnostic tools. The complaint further accused Deere of conspiring with its dealer network to sustain the arrangement, alleging that repair services were far more profitable than new equipment sales.
Deere moved to dismiss. On November 27, 2023, Judge Johnston denied the motion, finding the plaintiffs had plausibly alleged both a primary equipment market and a separate aftermarket for repair services. The parties later reached the settlement filed with the court on April 6, 2026. Deere entered the agreement without admitting wrongdoing, stating it wanted to “move forward and remain focused on what matters most — serving our customers.”
What This Settlement Doesn’t Resolve
A few limits are worth understanding before you decide how to proceed.
The settlement does not explicitly require Deere to hand over its full-function Service ADVISOR tool. That gap is the subject of a separate lawsuit the Federal Trade Commission, joined by the attorneys general of Illinois and Minnesota, filed against Deere on January 15, 2025, in the same courthouse before the same judge. The FTC case seeks a permanent injunction requiring Deere to make Service ADVISOR available to all equipment owners and independent repair providers, and it alleges Deere holds a 100 percent market share in repairs requiring that tool. Judge Johnston denied Deere’s motion to dismiss the FTC case on June 9, 2025, and additional states, including Michigan, Wisconsin, and Arizona, have joined. No trial date has been set.
Repair advocates have also questioned whether the Operations Center PRO Service offers capability equivalent to Service ADVISOR. In Colorado, where an agricultural right-to-repair law took effect in January 2024, advocates have noted that Deere’s newer tools still contain limitations on engine-related tests, calibrations, and reprogramming for certain controllers.
Rob Larew, president of the National Farmers Union, called the settlement proof of “the urgent need for federal right-to-repair laws that permanently guarantee farmers access to repair tools on fair and reasonable terms,” adding that “more work needs to be done at the federal level to ensure protections for farmers and ranchers.”
For farmers who paid dealer repair bills during the class period, the practical steps are the same regardless of what happens with the FTC case: pull your invoices, watch for a notice from the settlement administrator, and file at the portal before October 15, 2026.