This property has a documented history as a automobile dealership going back to 1960. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This approximately five-acre property in Spokane Valley has operated as the Appleway Chevrolet auto dealership sales lot and parking area, overlying a parcel that was used as a landfill during the 1960s and 1970s — the source of subsurface contamination documented at the site. Remediation under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included excavation of contaminated soil, asphalt capping, installation of stormwater control systems, and groundwater monitoring conducted from 1998 through 2013. The site has reached No Further Action status under an Environmental Covenant that requires ongoing maintenance, inspections, and periodic reviews. 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 traces to landfill operations conducted in the 1960s and 1970s, decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were still written without effective pollution exclusions. The remediation record here — soil excavation, years of active groundwater monitoring, institutional controls, and permanent maintenance obligations — documents real expenditures tied directly to releases from those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers whose CGL policies covered the property during that landfill-active window may bear a recoverable share of those documented cleanup 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.
