$31.9 Million Settlement Resolves Nationwide Class Action Over Defective 303 Tractor Hydraulic Fluid

For decades, farmers and equipment operators across the country relied on 303 tractor hydraulic fluid to protect transmissions, hydraulic systems, and other components in their tractors and farm machinery. Products sold under the Super S and CAM2 brand names claimed to meet longstanding John Deere 303 specifications, a standard the agricultural industry had used as a benchmark for lubricant performance.

The problem, plaintiffs alleged, was that those claims were false. The 303 specification was effectively obsolete, having been written in part around sperm whale oil, which was banned in the 1970s. Plaintiffs contended that Smitty's Supply and CAM2 International filled their products with inferior ingredients, including recycled oils and diluted additives, that failed to provide the advertised anti-wear protection. Rather than safeguarding equipment, the fluid allegedly accelerated wear and caused measurable damage to the machinery it was supposed to protect.

The litigation was consolidated as a multidistrict proceeding before U.S. District Judge Stephen Bough in the Western District of Missouri, captioned In re: Smitty's/CAM2 303 Tractor Hydraulic Fluid Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 4:20-md-02936. The class covered purchasers of the four products anywhere in the United States going back to December 2013.

Don Downing and Gretchen Garrison of Gray Ritter Graham were among the plaintiff's counsel representing the nationwide class alongside attorneys from Horn Aylward and Bandy and White Graham Buckley and Carr, among others. Plaintiffs pursued claims for breach of express and implied warranty, fraudulent misrepresentation, and unjust enrichment.

Judge Bough granted final approval of the $31.9 million settlement on March 27, 2025. Class members could recover per-unit payments for each container purchased, ranging from $4 for one-gallon jugs to $90 for 55-gallon drums. Purchasers with documented equipment damage were eligible to claim up to $1,000. The defendants did not admit liability as part of the resolution.