This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property formerly housed the Howatt Manufacturing facility, an industrial and manufacturing operation whose historic releases of chlorinated solvents and petroleum hydrocarbons are the basis for the current cleanup. Contaminants including PCE, TCE, cis-DCE, and vinyl chloride — characteristic of industrial degreasing — along with petroleum hydrocarbons, have been identified at the site. Cleanup assessment and excavation activities were underway as early as 1996, and a No Further Action letter issued in 1998 acknowledged the existing historic releases. Cleanup work at the property continues today under Washington's Standard Cleanup program. 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 chlorinated solvents documented at this former manufacturing site — PCE, TCE, and their daughter products — are the fingerprint of industrial processes conducted well before 1986, the year occurrence-based CGL policies began routinely excluding pollution claims. Carriers who issued those policies to Howatt Manufacturing or its predecessors during the pre-1986 operational window had no effective pollution exclusion and may remain obligated to fund remediation expenditures being incurred now. A contamination history spanning at least three decades of investigation and cleanup — rooted in historic industrial releases — is precisely the long-tail liability those policies were written to address.
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.
