This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1978. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as Woodinville Lumber Inc., a lumberyard and truss and house-framing distribution facility with two 5,000-gallon underground storage tanks installed around 1978–1979 to store leaded gasoline and diesel fuel for the company's vehicle fleet. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included excavation and removal of both USTs, in-situ enhanced bioremediation of TPH-contaminated soil and groundwater through 30 injection points delivering soil conditioners, nutrients, and microbes, and installation and monitoring of two groundwater wells over the 2002–2003 project period. The site has received a No Further Action determination. 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.
Petroleum contamination at this property traces directly to underground storage tanks installed in the late 1970s — years before the 1986 shift away from occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies with no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation costs — tank removal, bioremediation across 30 injection points, groundwater well installation, and multi-year monitoring — were incurred to address releases from those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who provided CGL coverage to the lumber operation during the period those tanks were in service may still be obligated to reimburse those cleanup expenditures.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful cost recovery claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage for costs already incurred. Restorical's forensic accounting team works to re-establish and document past cleanup expenditures, ensuring the strongest possible basis for recovery.
Recovering Costs from an Older Cleanup
If this site reached No Further Action years ago, the original cleanup expenditures may be difficult to reconstruct. Restorical's forensic accounting team specializes in re-establishing and documenting past cleanup costs — even decades later — to build the strongest possible basis for an insurance recovery claim.
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.
