Attorney General Kris Mayes joins lawsuit against John Deere

Attorney General Kris Mayes is joining the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and four other state attorney's in a lawsuit against John Deere.

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Attorney General Kris Mayes is accusing John Deere of restricting farmers and independent repair providers from repairing John Deere equipment.

They say this forced farmers to use Deere's services, even when other independent repair providers could provide a "faster" or "more affordable" alternative.

"Requiring farmers to use John Deere to repair the tractors, John Deere is essentially raising costs on farmers and that’s basically unfair," said Attorney General Mayes.

But Arizona Farm Bureau President John Boelts says the issue has already been solved in a memorandum of understanding between the American Farm Bureau Federation and John Deere.

"I think they don't realize what's already been worked out, so I think it's a waste of taxpayer's resources, these manufacturers have particular things that they want," said Boelts.

The Attorney General's Office shares their response to the memorandum: "The Farm Bureau is not a plaintiff in this case. There remain claims that need to be heard before a court regarding John Deere's alleged unlawful restrictions and unfair methods of competition."

Attorney General Mayes claims that Deere is in violation of the Arizona Uniform State Antitrust Act because of these actions.

The Arizona Farm Bureau says they are willing to meet with the attorney general regarding this issue and plenty of others as well.