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JCPenney finally shelves Martha Stewart deal

Martha Stewart’s stormy affair with JCPenney is ending — and she’s the one getting dumped.

Stewart’s line of home goods at Penney, which sparked an epic courtroom battle with Macy’s, is getting scrapped for good by Penney CEO Mike Ullman, The Post has learned.

That’s despite the fact that a New York judge still hasn’t ruled on the three-way legal scuffle — sparked by Macy’s pre-existing licensing deal with Stewart — whose year-and-a-half saga is expected to conclude in the coming days.

“Ullman made the decision for the judge,” according to a source briefed on the situation. “They definitely are not going to carry [Martha Stewart home goods] any longer and [they are] not waiting for the court ruling.”

In talks with employees, Ullman, sources said, hasn’t been shy about his reasons for ending the 10-year, $200 million deal with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, which was announced in December 2011 by ex-Penney CEO Ron Johnson.

“Mike said her designs aren’t that great,” according to an insider close to the company. “He says they’re not selling, and they’re nothing that your normal Joe Schmoe can’t come up with.”

Neither Stewart nor JCP responded immediately to requests for comment.

Ullman, a former Penney CEO who returned to the helm in April to repair damage from a disastrously unsuccessful turnaround effort by Johnson, began to broadcast the split with the beleaguered domestic diva to workers in recent weeks, insiders said.

However, Ullman was determined to give Stewart the boot from the get-go, insiders said.

As reported by The Post, Ullman initially reached out to Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren to settle the lawsuit, which had already gone to trial with dramatic testimony from Lundgren, Johnson and Stewart herself.

During the trial, Ullman determined that a settlement might open a window for a fresh lawsuit from Stewart, sources said.

Prospects for Penney’s Stewart line looked grim this spring after Justice Jeffrey Oing barred the retailer from putting the diva’s name on most products in the line — including bedding, bath and kitchenware — because those categories were already licensed by Macy’s.

Accordingly, Penney was forced to scrap the original name “Martha Stewart Everyday,” instead giving the Stewart-designed goods the generic “JCP Everyday” moniker.

In late June, during a months-long recess that followed three weeks of testimony, Penney quietly abandoned its trademark for JCP Everyday, public records show.

It could take until the end of the year to liquidate all of the JCP Everyday products, sources said. Some of the product has already been marked down as much as 50 percent.

In addition, Ullman looks poised to eliminate Penney’s production of Stewart-branded goods that are allowed in a handful of categories not contracted to Macy’s, including window treatments, rugs, crafts and pantry items.