Macy’s sues J.C. Penney over Martha Stewart agreement

New York -- Bloomberg reported Thursday that Macy’s Inc. has filed suit against J.C. Penney Co. in New York state court over the rights to sell products branded by Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. in their respective department stores.



Macy’s sued Martha Stewart Living in January to stop it from executing a sales agreement with J.C. Penney, as Macy’s claimed an exclusive right to sell Martha Stewart products in certain categories.



In July, Justice Jeffrey K. Oing in Manhattan granted Macy’s a preliminary injunction blocking Martha Stewart Living from taking any steps under the agreement with J.C. Penney.



Martha Stewart Living filed a notice of appeal last week.



In the suit filed Thursday in the same court, Macy’s said J.C. Penney caused it to “incur substantial damages and threatens to inflict incalculable further harm” and that the Martha Stewart pact is “transparently designed to eliminate the competitive advantage that Macy’s enjoys in the area of home products.”