The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Tuesday a trial judge should revisit whether Match Group LLC provided timely notice to its insurer of a product development consultant’s August 2016 lawsuit.
The three-judge appellate panel in Match Group LLC v. Beazley Underwriting Ltd. said the trial judge erred when finding a letter sent by attorneys for John Mellesmoen to a Match Group subsidiary was not a claim and that the policyholder therefore provided timely notice to Beazley.
The appeals court said the judge must determine how a section of New York law provides an extension on time when a contractual performance is required on a weekend.
Dallas-based Match Group, which operates a number of online dating sites such as Hinge and Tinder, sued Beazley in federal court in New York after the insurer said it was not provided notice of Mr. Mellesmoen’s lawsuit until after its policy expired at 12:01 AM on Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016. Beazley received notice of the lawsuit at 8:48 AM on Monday, Aug. 22, 2016, court records show.
The trial judge denied Beazley’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, finding the letter from Mr. Mellesmoen’s attorneys did not constitute a claim requiring Match Group to provide notice to its insurer.
Beazley appealed and argued that the product development consultant’s suit was filed after its policy expired because it was not provided with notice of the lawsuit until the Monday after the policy expired.
Representatives for the parties did not respond to requests for comment.
