This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1963. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
The JG Murphy property in Kenmore has operated under successive industrial uses dating back to at least 1963, when a warehouse and associated underground storage tanks were first constructed. Historical activities included a construction contractor warehouse, a concrete burial vault manufacturing operation, a welding shop, and ultimately an auction yard and storage yard for wrecked vehicles and equipment. Underground storage tanks — a 2,000-gallon gasoline UST, a 1,000-gallon stove oil tank, and a 500-gallon heating oil UST — were present from 1963 through the mid-1980s, with contamination attributed to the former UST system and decades of small incidental surface releases. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included excavation and off-site disposal of contaminated soil from five identified areas, dewatering and treatment of affected groundwater, multi-year remedial investigations, and ongoing groundwater monitoring, culminating in 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 at this property originated from UST systems first installed in 1963 — more than two decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation work here — multi-area soil excavation, groundwater dewatering and treatment, and extended monitoring — represents cleanup expenditures tied directly to releases from those pre-1986 operations across a succession of industrial tenants. Historical CGL carriers who insured the warehouse, manufacturing, or auction yard operations during that window may still be obligated to recover those remediation 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.
