(The Center Square) – Five state attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission are suing John Deere alleging the company unfairly blocks farmers from using independent repair shops for their equipment, thus making those repairs more expensive and less efficient than they would be in an open market.
Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Arizona and Wisconsin filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Illinois.
The John Deere equipment requires a software tool that only licensed repair shops have to diagnose electronic issues with the equipment…