This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1971. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This Tacoma property has been associated with auto shredding and metal recycling operations at least since 1971, when it was conveyed to Donald E. Oline. The site is contaminated with automobile shredder residue (ASR) — the ground-up non-recyclable remnants of cars processed through a hammermill — present as fill material containing lead and PCBs. Cleanup activities from 1998 through 2001 managed approximately 1,230 cubic yards of contaminated material through excavation, and the site operates under institutional controls including a restrictive covenant and maintained soil covers, with continuing monitoring and maintenance requirements. Ecology has issued a No Further Action determination for the site. 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 lead and PCB contamination at this property is the direct residue of industrial auto shredding operations that began at least fifteen years before 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies still governed commercial liability and carried no effective pollution exclusion. Historical carriers who issued CGL coverage to the site operators during that pre-1986 window may remain obligated for the documented remediation costs — over 1,200 cubic yards of excavated material, institutional controls, and ongoing monitoring — all tied directly to those earlier industrial operations.
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.
