06:32 AM EST, 01/16/2025 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with Deere's response in the last two paragraphs.)

The US Federal Trade Commission and the states of Illinois and Minnesota filed a lawsuit against Deere (DE) for allegedly driving up repair costs for farmers and depriving them of the ability to make timely repairs on important farming equipment.

The farm equipment maker has unlawfully boosted its profits by forcing farmers to use its network of authorized dealers for repairs, according to the complaint.

The only fully functional software repair tool that can perform all repairs on Deere equipment is produced by the company itself, and the company makes the tool available only to its authorized dealers, the FTC said. This forces farmers to rely on more expensive authorized dealers for important repairs, the antitrust regulator said.

"Illegal repair restrictions can be devastating for farmers, who rely on affordable and timely repairs to harvest their crops and earn their income," FTC Chair Lina Khan said Wednesday in a statement. "The FTC's action today seeks to ensure that farmers across America are free to repair their own equipment or use repair shops of their choice -- lowering costs, preventing ruinous delays, and promoting fair competition for independent repair shops."

"The complaint is based on flagrant misrepresentations of the facts and fatally flawed legal theories," John Deere ( DE ) said in an statement emailed to MT Newswires.

The company pointed that two FTC commissioners voted against filing the complaint, alleging partisan motivation behind the lawsuit, adding that it will defend itself against the case.