Macy's Sues Martha Over J.C. Penney Deal

Macy's is miffed at Martha. No, it doesn't have anything to do with those infamous exploding tables. No one seems to care about those, except their unlucky owners.  

This fight is over something more basic -- marketing rights.  Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia recently signed an agreement with J.C. Penney to sell home and kitchen items under the Martha Stewart name, something Macy's thinks is its exclusive territory.

After all, Macy's has been selling Martha's stuff since way back in 2005 or so, when a similarly snotty dust-up occurred between Sears/Kmart and Macy's.

Is this starting to sound like Newt Gingrich's marital history?

You may remember that Kmart had been selling a line of Martha Stewart merchandise for years and stuck with her during, oh, you know, that little unpleasantness with the courts and prison and everything.

When she got out, Martha repaid Sears/Kmart by doing a deal with Macy's.  Now Macy's is on the receiving end, and has filed suit in a New York court charging breach of contract and claiming that the right to sell Martha Stewart home and kitchen items belongs exclusively to Macy's.

A Stewart spokesman said the merchandise sold at Penney's would be different from that sold at Macy's.