This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility going back to 1975. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property housed the Tacoma Drapery Towne Cleaner, a dry cleaning operation that ran from approximately 1986 until the early 2000s, using perchloroethylene (PCE) in its cleaning processes. Underground storage tanks on the property — a 1,000-gallon, a 3,000-gallon, and a 20,000-gallon unit — date to at least the mid-1970s, though their operational link to the dry cleaner was not established. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included removal of the two smaller USTs in 1993, partial removal and in-place closure of the 20,000-gallon tank, and extensive site characterization through soil borings, test pits, ground-penetrating radar, and soil sampling for petroleum hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds. The site has 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.
Underground storage tanks at this property were installed in the mid-1970s, and a January 1987 inspection confirmed ongoing perchloroethylene waste disposal — placing contamination-generating operations within the pre-1986 window when occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation expenditures — UST removals, soil excavation, and years of site characterization — are costs that historical carriers who issued policies during those operational years may be obligated to cover. With a No Further Action determination now in hand, the full scope of past cleanup costs is defined and recoverable.
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.