This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
The Boeing Commercial Airplanes Everett Plant is a large-scale aircraft manufacturing facility whose documented operations include plating, paint stripping, vapor degreasing, hydraulic system maintenance, and chemical storage associated with 747 and 777 production. Contamination — including trichloroethylene (TCE) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) — was identified across numerous Solid Waste Management Units and Areas of Concern throughout the plant. A 1997 Agreed Order formalized Ecology's cleanup authority over those units; remediation since then has included soil excavations, underground storage tank removals, groundwater monitoring, enhanced reductive heating, bioremediation, and soil vapor surveys, with documented work spanning at least 1997 through 2011 and investigations ongoing. 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 plating lines, vapor degreasers, and solvent recycling units that generated TCE and PCB contamination at the Everett Plant were in place and in operation well before 1986. When Ecology initiated the 1997 Agreed Order — formally identifying existing SWMUs and AOCs as requiring remediation — it established the kind of documented regulatory trigger that obligates notice to historical liability carriers. Boeing's accumulated remediation costs under that Agreed Order, spanning soil excavations, ERH treatment, bioremediation, and long-term monitoring, represent expenditures potentially recoverable against CGL policies issued to the plant's operators during those pre-1986 years.
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.
