Better Life / Levy repeated-litigation chronology
After C039 (naming Better Life Foods Inc. and the three Levy defendants) was dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction in Oct. 2024, Tufano filed a new, much larger action (C036, later removed and continuing federally as C068) against overlapping defendants roughly 17 months later, over a protein-bar recipe/trade-dress dispute, later amended to add Paul Saladino and Lineage Provisions LLC.
C039's R&R-adopted jurisdictional dismissal and direct portal review of C036's First Amended Complaint confirming the overlapping Better Life/Levy defendant set and the added parties.
Research assessment
The repeat-filing pattern against overlapping core defendants after a jurisdictional dismissal is source-backed. No court has ruled on whether C036/C068's claims are identical to C039's dismissed claims; C039's dismissal was jurisdictional, not a merits or frivolousness finding.
Important caveat
C068 remains open with ongoing motion practice (discovery disputes, a stay motion, and new counsel entries as of Aug. 2026); it has no disposition of its own. The DISPUTES table description itself notes: "Not every case in the group has been judicially found identical."
Cases in this sequence
Timeline
Tufano filed federal complaint C039 against Better Life Foods Inc. and Jake, Norman, and Robyn Levy.
Source — pacermonitor.com ↗C039 was dismissed without prejudice for failure to establish subject-matter jurisdiction, after repeated opportunities to amend.
Source — casemine.com ↗Tufano filed C036 in Lackawanna County, naming Better Life Foods Inc. and the same three Levy defendants from C039 among many others, roughly 17 months after C039 was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
Source — lpa-homes.org ↗First Amended Complaint confirmed the underlying dispute is a protein-bar recipe/trade-dress claim ("Best Bar") and added Paul Saladino and Lineage Provisions LLC as defendants.
Source — lpa-homes.org ↗C036 was removed to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, where it continues as C068 (same originating action as C036).
Source — pacermonitor.com ↗