This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1965. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property operated as a Brown Bear Car Wash and Gas Station in Kirkland, with underground storage tanks dispensing gasoline and diesel to the public. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program has included the excavation and removal of three USTs and associated pipelines, removal of approximately 400 cubic yards of petroleum-contaminated soil, Enhanced Fluid Recovery Treatment of groundwater from late 1997 to mid-1998, an in-situ bioremediation test in 1999, and quarterly groundwater monitoring ongoing since 1995. The gas station use ended prior to 2007, and cleanup work remains in progress. 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.
Petroleum contamination at this site — including BTEX compounds and total lead indicative of leaded gasoline — traces to underground storage tanks installed and operated well before 1986, with a diesel release identified as early as 1989 and USTs removed in 1990. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued during those decades of fuel-dispensing operations carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington and remain enforceable today. The documented remediation expenditures — tank and soil removal, groundwater treatment, bioremediation, and over a decade of monitoring — represent costs the historical carriers may be obligated both to recover and to fund as cleanup continues.
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
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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.