Macy's had what it believed to be an exclusive merchandising agreement with Martha Stewart, with Ms. Stewart agreeing to provide her name and endorsement to certain Macy's household products. Several years later, JCPenney entered into a similar merchandising agreement with Martha Stewart for her to endorse several of its household products.

In 2013, Macy's filed suit against Penney's and Ms. Stewart alleging that Ms. Stewart had breached her contract of exclusivity with Macy's and that Penney's had interfered with its contractual relationship with Ms. Stewart. The case proceeded to trial, a trial that included Ms. Stewart as a witness. However, by the time the trial arrived, Ms. Stewart and Macy's had settled their portion of the suit, and the battle for tortious interference with contracts continued between Penney's and Macy's. The tort of contractual interference requires proof that a third party acted to intentionally cause a party to an existing contract to breach that contract or minimize its value. Penney's did so by soliciting Ms. Stewart. The trial consisted of evidence that the product lines were different, and there were different products, but there were also a number of products endorsed by Ms. Stewart that were available at both stores. A judge issued his ruling in the case, holding that Penney's had unlawfully interfered with Macy's contractual relationship with Ms. Stewart. The judge referred to Penney's conduct as "adolescent behavior in the worst form." 49 The final phase of the case determined that Penney's was not required to pay punitive damages for its behavior but was liable for Macy's costs and other economic damage throughout the long and winding road to the verdict in the case. \({ }^{50}\) Ironically, the plan to bring on Ms. Stewart was part of a new strategy for Penney's of obtaining exclusive licensing arrangements in order to attract shoppers. The plan failed terribly because what Penney's shoppers wanted was not exclusive licensing and products, but bargain. Penney's has since returned to its bargain strategy and abandoned the licensing arrangements. Even more ironically, Macy's sales are now down as Penney's are up............

 Discussion Questions
1. Why would the judge refer to Penney's behavior as adolescent? What about Ms. Stewart's behavior?
2. Is there a line in competition between competing and self-destruction?