This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1958. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This Yakima industrial property has been in continuous use since the late 1950s, when the building was constructed and Decoto Aircraft Inc. began manufacturing airplane parts — operations that continued through the mid-1970s until GE acquired the facility through successive corporate transactions. Historical industrial activities included an oil-fed furnace and, off-site, underground storage tanks installed in 1964 that were not confirmed to have released until 1999. Remediation on and adjacent to the property — including UST removals, groundwater monitoring, and interim cleanup actions — has been documented across multiple parcels, and the site now holds No Further Action status under the Voluntary 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 release from the 1964 underground storage tanks was not detected until 1999 — a 35-year lag that reflects the slow subsurface migration characteristic of Decoto Aircraft's era of industrial operations at this site. CGL policies issued to Decoto Aircraft and its successors during the 1960s and 1970s were occurrence-based, meaning they attach to contamination at the time of release, not discovery, and those policies remain enforceable regardless of when the release surfaced. GE Aviation, which now carries this site's liability through the acquisition chain, may be able to reach back to those historical carriers to recover the documented cleanup expenditures that produced the No Further Action determination.
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.
