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.
The Chan Property occupies land in Seattle's SODO district that was physically created by dredge-sediment fill deposited in the early 1900s; those older sediments, which underlie more recent fill, contain elevated concentrations of arsenic, lead, and cadmium. The property was later used as a facility by CCI Industrial & Construction (operator Thomas Carleton) from 1999 to 2006. Following the close of those operations, the owner documented an intent to conduct quarterly groundwater monitoring, but assessments conducted in both 2006 and 2014 found no evidence that any monitoring or remedial activity had been carried out. The site remains in Awaiting Cleanup status with no remediation completed. 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 heavy metal contamination at this property is embedded in dredge sediments deposited decades before 1986 — well before the pollution-exclusion amendments that transformed occurrence-based CGL policies after that year. Any party that owned or occupied this land before 1986, when the contaminated sediments and their constituent arsenic, lead, and cadmium were already in place, may have carried CGL coverage that is still enforceable today. The investigation and remediation costs now facing the current owner represent obligations that could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose policies were in force during that long pre-1986 period.
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.
