This property has a documented history as a landfill going back to 1978. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
The Dorman Tire Yard in Roy, Pierce County operated as a large-scale tire storage and disposal site beginning as early as 1978, accumulating millions of used tires across the property and adjacent wetlands. A catastrophic fire in 1982 burned an estimated three to four million tires over five months, and a 1989 investigation directly attributed volatile organic compound (VOC) and semi-volatile compound (SV) contamination in soil to that fire event. Remediation included an initial tire cleanup completed in 1995, followed by excavation and off-site disposal of 6,200 tons of contaminated soils and melted tires, with cost-recovery activities continuing through April 2005. 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 contamination at this property originated entirely from tire storage and fire events that occurred before 1986 — the tire yard was active from at least 1978, and the defining release event was the 1982 fire. Occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies in effect during that pre-1986 window covered precisely this kind of gradual and event-driven environmental release, with no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. The documented remediation trail — two rounds of cleanup, 6,200 tons of impacted material removed, and years of cost-recovery proceedings — represents expenditures directly traceable to a pre-1986 occurrence that historical carriers may still be obligated to cover.
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.
