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 Tacoma property operated as a construction yard and heavy equipment storage facility, with vehicle storage, maintenance, and sandblasting activities identified as the sources of contamination at the site. Petroleum releases to the ground and contamination beneath an old shop floor slab prompted cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, beginning with soil excavation to depths of up to seven feet and on-site bioremediation in 1995. A second excavation phase in 2010 removed approximately 31 to 33 tons of contaminated soil for off-site disposal, with a projected disposal volume of 50 cubic yards. The site has since received a No Further Action determination. 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 documented here originated from long-running heavy equipment storage, vehicle maintenance, and industrial operations that predated 1986 — the year after which occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies began incorporating effective pollution exclusions. Releases found beneath an old shop floor slab are characteristic of the slow, ongoing contamination that pre-1986 CGL policies were structured to cover. The documented remediation costs — two phases of soil excavation spanning fifteen years, on-site bioremediation, and off-site disposal of dozens of tons of impacted material — represent expenditures that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during those operational years may still be obligated to recover.
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.
