Deere & Co., which does business as John Deere, is known for its agricultural equipment. But according to the complaint for this antitrust class action, the company has monopolized a different market, the market for repairs of its equipment (DRS market). Although in earlier days, owners and independent repair shops could make repairs, the complaint claims Deere’s current use of onboard computers known as engine control units (ECUs) has made this impossible.
The class for this action is all persons and entities living in the US who, between June 3, 2018 and the present, bought DRS for Deere tractors from Deere or an authorized Deere dealer or technician.
The complaint alleges, “Deere has made necessary tools and software needed to perform repairs inaccessible to farmers and independent repair shops.” It has also forbidden its dealerships to allow other parties access to the tools and software.
This is a problem, the complaint alleges: “For example, an owner of a Tractor may be able to replace the transmission on their equipment, but that Tractor will not operate unless proprietary Software from John Deere ‘approves’ the newly-installed part. A farmer or mechanic may have the necessary mechanical parts and know-how to repair a Tractor, but without access to the Software will not be able to complete the repair.” But Deere does not share this software with anyone but its own technicians.
Deere has the largest share of the US agricultural machinery market, but the complaint says that “Deere’s business for DRS is multiple times more profitable than its sales of original equipment.”
The complaint alleges that this repair monopoly allows Deere technicians to charge higher prices for their repairs than they would be able to charge in a market that was truly competitive.
According to the complaint, in 2018, Deere promised to make the software and tools available by January 2021 but has not done so.
The complaint claims that the need to use Deere’s authorized repair services is both expensive and inconvenient, in part because, it claims, Deere has made an “aggressive, forced consolidation of its Dealerships” so that there are fewer places owners can look to for repairs. The complaint claims that the requirement to use Deere dealers for repairs is a tying arrangement.
The repair monopoly has contributed greatly to Deere’s profits, the complaint asserts. “In the last several years, the reported profit margins not associated with direct sales of equipment increased dramatically. The company told investors in 2020 that it was counting on its parts and maintenance services business to contribute 50 basis points in increased profits over the next two years.”
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Antitrust
Most Recent Case Event
John Deere Equipment Repair Monopoly Antitrust Complaint
June 6, 2022
Deere & Co., which does business as John Deere, is known for its agricultural equipment. But according to the complaint for this antitrust class action, the company has monopolized a different market, the market for repairs of its equipment (DRS market). Although in earlier days, owners and independent repair shops could make repairs, the complaint claims Deere’s current use of onboard computers known as engine control units (ECUs) has made this impossible.
John Deere Equipment Repair Monopoly Antitrust ComplaintCase Event History
John Deere Equipment Repair Monopoly Antitrust Complaint
June 6, 2022
Deere & Co., which does business as John Deere, is known for its agricultural equipment. But according to the complaint for this antitrust class action, the company has monopolized a different market, the market for repairs of its equipment (DRS market). Although in earlier days, owners and independent repair shops could make repairs, the complaint claims Deere’s current use of onboard computers known as engine control units (ECUs) has made this impossible.
John Deere Equipment Repair Monopoly Antitrust Complaint