Class action seeks right to make independent repairs of earthmoving equipment
Christy Webber & Co. Landscapes, a Chicago-based site work and landscaping contractor, filed an anti-trust lawsuit May 14 against Deere & Co., singling out the equipment manufacturer’s construction and forestry division over what Webber alleges is Deere’s refusal to allow the contractor’s mechanics the right to repair its Deere skid steers, excavators and other construction equipment without involving Deere or its dealer network.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in the northern district of Illinois, is a class action and Webber said in the filing it was doing so «on behalf of itself and others so situated» who it invited to join the litigation.
Deere’s agriculture division settled a similar right-to-repair class action filed by its farmer customers concerning rights to repair its agricultural equipment about a month ago for $99 million.
The right-to-repair issue, where owners of equipment and electronics assert a right to make their own repairs without having to go back to the manufacturer, is more commonly seen in the agricultural sector, but has been an emerging issue for construction equipment in recent years. While some states have enacted legislation ensuring a right-to-repair for owners of certain types of equipment and devices, Illinois has yet to pass any such protections.
A Question of Who Gets to Fix the Machines
Among other things Webber alleged in the filing, it claimed Deere forces its customers to receive repairs only through its dealer network and forces them to purchase and use Deere parts despite the landscape contractor employing its own mechanics and stocking its own surplus of spare parts, including some from independent aftermarket manufacturers.
«Deere’s exploitation of C&F equipment owners began as part of a Deere strategy to increase profitability by restricting the ability of Deere customers to independently repair the equipment that those customers purchased from Deere,» the filing reads. «Specifically, Deere, which is a leading manufacturer in the C&F market segment, and its authorized network of C&F dealers and technicians, have agreed to stifle competition in the aftermarket for repair services for Deere C&F equipment. Deere abuses its monopoly power in that market to force Deere C&F equipment owners to use a Deere Dealer for many key repairs, and through those repairs, also forces those equipment owners to purchase replacement parts sold by Deere.»
Deere & Co. responded with this statement: «John Deere has long supported our customers’ ability to maintain and repair their equipment. We remain committed to offering tools, resources, and solutions that help customers keep their machines running safely, reliably, and efficiently.»
Webber is a privately owned company with revenues estimated up to $76 million and it employs more than 400 landscapers, landscape architects, laborers, engineers and mechanics.
In the court filing, it estimates that it has purchased or leased nearly 50 pieces of Deere C&F equipment, including wheel loaders (models 304K, 324K and 524L), track loaders (models 326E, 333G and 325G), excavators (models 30G, 50G, 317G, and 33G), and skid steers (models 324G, 330G and 312GR). Webber specified that each piece of equipment was purchased or leased from West Side Tractor Sales Co., the Chicagoland area’s largest Deere dealer. The complaint also mentions Deere dealers as «co-conspirators’ in what it alleges is a scheme to increase prices. Webber said its team of mechanics could not repair its Deere equipment because Deere does not give access to its Fully Functional Tool, a computer interface system that allows for diagnostics and repairs, to anyone but its own dealers.
«When Deere withholds the fully functional repair tools needed to diagnose, calibrate, reprogram, clear codes, pair parts, and return them to service, Deere C&F equipment owners face the same lock-in, delays, overcharges, and loss of repair choice that has drawn judicial, regulatory and public ire in the agriculture segment,» the filing reads. Webber’s complaint also cites the Right to Repair movement that originally spawned the farm equipment class action that Deere & Company settled last month.
A spokesman for Christy Webber & Co. was not immediately available to comment on the lawsuit.
