DeLaval is to pay $55m in compensation to US customers who purchased robot milker units.

The settlement is a landmark one of international significance. It concerns the Classic VMS (Voluntary Milking System) model, sold from 2000 to 2018.

Law firms Stueve Siegel Hanson, Cullenberg & Tensen, and Perrone Law brought the case on behalf of a group of farmers. It was alleged that the systems did not achieve “true quarter milking” as promised, dairy farmers were not permitted to upgrade their VMS robots, and the system did not come equipped with mastitis detection and an online cell counter.

The proposed settlement now requires final court approval, with a hearing set in Missouri in July.

Patrick Stueve of Stueve Siegel Hanson said: “We are pleased that the court has preliminarily approved this historic nationwide settlement that provides much needed relief for dairy farmers who purchased the DeLaval VMS Classic robotic milker.”

The case alleged that not only were there performance shortfalls, but that DeLaval fraudulently misrepresented and concealed these issues.

Settlement

With 40 depositions from farmers who had bought DeLaval Classic robotic milkers, and the production of millions of pages of documents, following settlement negotiations, DeLaval agreed to the $55m settlement. Farmers can register their claim for a share of the settlement once it has been fully finalised.

The same law firms are pursuing similar claims in a lawsuit against Lely North America relating to the Lely Astronaut 4 automatic milking system.

Class actions are where a group of people collectively pursue legal redress. They originated in the US.

They are not permissable in law in Ireland. Sometimes, where a large group of plaintiffs are identified against a common defendant or group of defendants, one or more test cases will be agreed between the protagonists, with all other related cases placed on hold until they have been adjudicated on by the courts.