This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1900. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
The Puget Sound Wood Preserving Company operated a creosote plant at this Everett property from the early 1900s through the late 1920s, using retort units alongside five underground storage tanks and four large above-ground tanks holding crude oil and creosote for industrial wood preservation. A Site Hazard Assessment has confirmed contamination from creosote, diesel, heavy oil, and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (cPAHs) in both soil and groundwater at the site, with contamination encountered in 1996 linked directly to those historical operations. No active remediation has commenced; the site is currently ranked and awaiting cleanup under Washington's Standard Cleanup program. 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 creosote and petroleum contamination here originated from industrial processing operations that ceased nearly six decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were still the industry norm and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The slow, persistent migration of creosote, heavy oil, and cPAHs into soil and groundwater is precisely the kind of long-latency release those policies were written to address. The investigation, cleanup design, and remediation costs now facing this site could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose CGL policies were in force during the plant's operational decades.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful coverage claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage. Restorical then manages the claim, including accounting, to ensure the cleanup is funded in a timely manner.
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
Ready to learn more?
Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
