Acme Revival Sues Empower Tribe, Alleging It Broke Colorado Law by Denying Access to Essential Repair Materials
Complaint alleges Empower Tribe violated Colorado law by knowingly and in bad faith refusing repeated demands to provide Acme Revival with replacement parts, service manuals, schematics, diagnostic software, firmware tools, and other materials needed to repair Behringer, Midas, TC Helicon, and Turbosound devices.
Denver, CO— Denver-based Acme Revival has filed a lawsuit against Empower Tribe Commercial FZE and Empower Tribe Innovations US Inc, alleging that the defendants violated Colorado’s Consumer Repair Bill of Rights Act and the Colorado Consumer Protection Act by failing or refusing to provide materials needed for independent repair.
The complaint was filed on October 7, 2026, in the District Court for the City and County of Denver. It concerns Behringer, Midas, TC Helicon, and Turbosound audio equipment, including digital electronic devices used for audio mixing, recording, signal processing, sound reinforcement, connectivity, and related consumer and commercial applications, to the extent those devices are covered by Colorado law.
According to the complaint, Acme Revival has received requests since January 2026 to repair approximately 87 devices, including 45 Behringer devices, 23 TC Helicon devices, 18 Midas devices, and one Turbosound device. The requested repairs concern electronic, mechanical, software, firmware, and related functionality requiring replacement parts or technical repair materials.
Acme Revival alleges that it has been unable to accept, complete, or efficiently perform certain repairs because Empower Tribe failed or refused to provide the necessary repair materials.
Those materials allegedly include replacement parts and assemblies, service documentation, service manuals, schematic diagrams, boardviews, embedded software, firmware and provisioning processes, firmware tools, diagnostic and calibration tools, calibration utilities, proprietary diagnostic software, and related repair resources.
The complaint states that Acme Revival submitted five separate demands through Empower Tribe’s public-facing website support channels, beginning as early as August 26, 2026, seeking access to those materials on fair and reasonable terms. It further alleges that Empower Tribe either ignored the demands or directed Acme Revival to authorized service providers rather than providing the requested materials or establishing a compliant independent repair-access process.
According to the complaint, Empower Tribe stated that service documentation, diagnostic resources, and replacement parts must be obtained through its authorized service network. In another response, Empower Tribe allegedly stated that service manuals, schematics, boardviews, and internal diagnostic or programming resources were restricted to authorized service centers and stores and that direct spare-parts ordering access could not be provided to an independent repair company.
Colorado’s Consumer Repair Bill of Rights Act requires manufacturers of covered digital electronic equipment to make certain repair documentation, parts, embedded software, firmware, and tools available to owners and independent repair providers on fair and reasonable terms and costs, subject to statutory limitations and exemptions. The complaint alleges that Empower Tribe’s refusal to provide qualifying materials violates those requirements and constitutes a deceptive trade practice under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act.
Acme Revival also alleges that Empower Tribe’s authorized-provider-only restrictions limit independent repair options and may leave device owners dependent on manufacturer-authorized repair facilities, manufacturer-controlled service arrangements, or replacement alternatives rather than allowing them to choose independent repair providers.
According to the complaint, Empower Tribe’s alleged refusal is not an isolated private dispute but reflects a broader policy or practice of restricting repair materials to authorized service centers and authorized stores. Acme Revival contends that the alleged practice restricts competition in the independent repair market and has the potential to affect other Colorado device owners, independent repair providers, and actual or potential consumers of the affected products and repair services.
The complaint alleges that Empower Tribe’s continued refusal after repeated notice was willful, knowing, intentional, and in bad faith. Acme Revival claims that it has suffered lost repair revenue, lost profits, wasted diagnostic and intake time, administrative and research expenses, harm to customer relationships and goodwill, and lost present and future repair opportunities.
Through the lawsuit, Acme Revival seeks declarations establishing the defendants’ obligations to provide qualifying repair materials for covered products on fair and reasonable terms and costs. It also seeks a permanent injunction, subject to the court’s determinations and applicable procedures, requiring the responsible defendants to establish and maintain a functional process for requesting, ordering, accessing, and receiving those materials, along with damages, interest, costs, and attorney fees as permitted by law.
The case is Acme Revival, Inc. v. Empower Tribe Commercial FZE and Empower Tribe Innovations US Inc, Case No. 2026CV33628. The allegations have not been adjudicated, and the defendants will have an opportunity to respond.
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