Harri is dot. LA's senior finance reporter. Find her on Twitter and send tips on L. A multi-billion-dollar lawsuit waged by several Tinder co-founders and early employees is getting its day in court on Monday, more than three years after the former Tinder executives first launched their legal battle against Match Group and its former owner, IAC. Tinder's two-time CEO and dot. LA investor Sean Rad, former CMO Justin Mateen , and others argue Match and IAC downplayed the dating app's growth potential and overestimated costs in , with the alleged goal of watering down stock options awarded to Tinder's early team.
The private assessment was used to determine the value of Rad, Mateen and others' options. But the suit alleges that by deliberately undervaluing Tinder, IAC and Match would be responsible for a smaller payout when the options were exercised.
The complaint also says Match and IAC covered up sexual assault allegations made against Blatt in order to carry out the plan. IAC and Tinder did not respond to a request for further comment on the case.
The case could offer a rare peek behind the curtain on Tinder's early days as it proceeds remotely due to the ongoing pandemic. Jury selection is expected to begin on Monday, and live-streamed opening statements are anticipated to start the following week. Former Tinder executive Rosette Pambakian, who accused Blatt of assault and Match of retaliation, was originally named as a plaintiff in the case, but she dropped out amid litigation over a forced-arbitration clause.
Pambakian hit Match and IAC in a separate lawsuit over the agreement. And earlier this year, a New York state judge cut the assault allegations from the co-founders' case. Herd sued Match and IAC over sexual harassment and sex discrimination in , and she has argued she was wrongly stripped of her co-founder status at Tinder.
