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 recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property served as the Eastern Airlines Ground Support Equipment facility at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where airline equipment maintenance, fueling, and related industrial operations resulted in a release of petroleum hydrocarbons into the soil. Independent remedial actions were completed under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, and the Department of Ecology issued a No Further Action determination. Eastern Airlines ceased all operations in 1991, and the facility is no longer in active airline use. 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 petroleum contamination at this facility originated from ground support operations conducted by Eastern Airlines prior to 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The remediation costs incurred to address the petroleum hydrocarbon release and achieve the No Further Action determination are tied directly to those pre-1986 industrial operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies covering Eastern Airlines during its years of operation at this airport facility may still be obligated to recover those documented cleanup costs.
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.
