Dan River, Inc. v. Commercial Union Insurance

The dispositive issues in this insurance case are whether notice of claim furnished by the insured to the insurer was untimely and, if so, whether the insurer waived the right1 to rely on a late-notice defense.

In September of 1977, appellant Dan River, Inc. filed a petition for declaratory judgment against appellee Commercial Union Insurance Company. The suit sought determination that certain insurance policies provided coverage for sums Dan River became obligated to pay as the result of a suit then pending in federal district court styled Julious Adams, et al. v. Dan River Mills, Inc.

The…