I had a 401K plan with a company the last 9 months. I had 10% of my paycheck deducted toward this plan but when I was recently laid-off, the company did not match a single cent towards the plan. I this legal?

You have to be vested to receive the company match. Read through your plan or contact your plan administrator. Typically you have to be at a company 5 yrs and you are considered vested, which means you are entitled to the company match. If you terminate from the company for any reason and are not vested you are not entitled to the match

The answer to your question really is "maybe". Many, but not all, plans have a vesting schedule as mentioned above. Some have other loopholes that make the matching portion of the contribution optional under certain circumstances. Consult your plan documents or plan administrator for the specifics of your plan.