This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property was the location of Penthouse Draperies, a former dry cleaning operation that released tetrachloroethene (PCE) and its chlorinated daughter products into soil and groundwater. A separate release of petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) from former underground storage tanks on or adjacent to the property was addressed through independent remedial actions, with groundwater monitoring conducted from at least 2001 through 2006 and a preliminary cleanup action plan prepared in 2003. As of January 2007, Ecology determined that further action for the PCE contamination in soil and groundwater remained required, rescinding an earlier No Further Action determination issued in 2002. The site currently holds No Further Action status. 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.
Contamination at this property traces to two distinct pre-1986 sources: a dry cleaning machine discharging PCE, and underground storage tanks that were already abandoned in place by the time a 1996 investigation documented nineteen of them — meaning installation and operation date well before 1986. Occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies written for the operators of Penthouse Draperies and the associated UST facility during that era carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. The remedial actions, multi-year groundwater monitoring, and regulatory process required to address releases from both sources represent costs that historical carriers whose policies were in force during those operations may be obligated to fund.
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.
