This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility going back to 1920. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.

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.

Contamination at this property traces to more than six decades of dry cleaning operations that began in the 1920s — operations during which both Stoddard Solvent and PCE were being released into soil and groundwater as a direct consequence of routine business activity. Ecology's investigation, begun as early as 1988, linked the contamination explicitly to accumulated historical releases, not any single incident. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the operators during the pre-1986 decades when these contaminants were being deposited carried no effective pollution exclusion and may represent an available source to fund the investigation and remediation costs this site still faces.

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.