This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1920. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This Tacoma parcel was part of a larger industrial complex operating from the 1920s through at least the late 1970s, with a building on the property used variously as a garage, pipe shop, and electric shop by Wheeler Osgood Company, St. Regis Lumber Company, and Wattles Company. The adjacent Parcel 94 — to which Parcel 132 POT is directly linked as a staging area — hosted plywood mill operations with a hog fuel burner from the 1930s into the late 1970s, on land originally developed with fill in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Remediation is ongoing under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, with interim and cleanup actions planned as part of a multi-year project; active biodegradation of petroleum contamination has been documented, and Parcel 94 previously underwent sump remediation in the 1990s. That history could support an insurance cost recovery claim against carriers who issued insurance policies 40+ years ago.
Why Historical Insurance Policies May Be Accessible
Pre-1986 Commercial General Liability (CGL) policies were occurrence-based and did not contain an effective pollution exclusion in Washington. If contamination occurred while those policies were active, those historical insurance carriers may still have a legal obligation to fund the cleanup costs, even if the business closed or the property changed hands.
The contamination at this property — metals, petroleum hydrocarbons, cPAHs, dioxins/furans, and PCBs — is characterized in the investigative record as historic contamination associated with past industrial uses, with operational roots extending back to the 1920s, decades before 1986. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the multiple operators who used the property during that era — Wheeler Osgood, St. Regis Lumber, and Wattles Company among them — were written without effective pollution exclusions and remain potentially enforceable today. The documented cost trail here spans sump remediation in the 1990s through an active, multi-year cleanup program still in progress, and the historical carriers whose policies were in force during the contamination-generating operations may be obligated to fund both past expenditures and the cleanup work still ahead.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful coverage claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage. Restorical then manages the claim, including accounting, to ensure the cleanup is funded in a timely manner.
What We Look For
- Historical insurance policies (pre-1986)
- Policy numbers, carrier names, and coverage periods
- Connection between contamination timing and policy period
- Evidence linking cleanup obligation to insured activity
What We Deliver
- Historical Coverage Chart
- Trigger Analysis & Property/Policy Nexus
- Coverage strategy with recommendations
- Insurance funding for your remediation
- Claims Management & Forensic Accounting
The Restorical Proven Process
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Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
