Macy-martha-penney fight ‘not a good thing’

Contracts are one thing, but we’ve got an economy to worry about!

Fed up with a threeway legal squabble between Macy’s, JCPenney and Martha Stewart’s media company, a New York judge said he found it “a little frustrating” that the brands haven’t been able to iron out their differences — given the shaky economy.

“To have them go into this nasty fight right now is not a good thing for the economy,” Manhattan state court judge Jeffrey Oing said, according to a Bloomberg News report.

Speaking after a hearing yesterday, the judge, according to the report, added that the corporate trio was “part of the fabric of this country.”

Oing yesterday denied a request by Macy’s for a court order to prevent Penney from rolling out a new line of Martha Stewart-branded home products next year.

Macy’s has argued that Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia’s deal with Penney, announced last fall, violates the terms of its own, preexisting distribution deal with the 71yearold Stewart, recently extended for five years.

But while the judge last month granted Macy’s a preliminary injunction to prevent the Domestic Diva from collaborating with Penney, he found Macy’s additional request for an injunction against Penney too much.

“It’s one thing to enjoin MSLO because that company is the centerpiece of these actions,” he said. “It’s another thing to enjoin a retail company from doing business.”

Macy’s said yesterday it will continue to sell Martha Stewartbranded “cookware, kitchen utensils, [and] bed and bath” products until 2018.

Penney last December paid $38.5 million for a 17 percent stake in MSLO as it inked its 10year licensing deal.