This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility going back to 1950. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
Clampitt's Cleaners has operated as a dry cleaning and laundry facility on Mercer Island since the 1950s, with historical releases of tetrachloroethene (PCE) contaminating both soil and groundwater, and dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) discovered beneath the alley immediately west of the facility. Initial investigations in 1996 and 1998 preceded a multi-year cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program that included 32,000 pounds of Fenton's reagent injections in 1999, excavation of 15 cubic yards of soil that same year, and removal of an additional 92 tons of soil during Phase I construction in 2001, which also involved well abandonment, storm drain replacement, and vent pipe installation. Groundwater monitoring continued through 2004, and Phase II groundwater remediation — with estimated costs of up to $500,000 for technologies including permeable reactive barriers, bioremediation, and soil vapor extraction — remains under evaluation. 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.
Dry cleaning operations at this Mercer Island facility began in the 1950s, placing decades of PCE-using activity squarely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The contamination documented here — including subsurface DNAPL, one of the most difficult and costly remediation challenges — traces directly to those pre-1986 releases. The remediation costs already incurred through investigations, chemical treatment, and soil excavation, together with prospective Phase II groundwater costs estimated at up to $500,000, represent expenditures that historical carriers whose CGL policies were in force during those operational decades may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward.
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.
