This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1945. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property operated as Cross Autowrecking, an automobile wrecking yard, from approximately 1945 through 1994 — nearly five decades of vehicle disassembly, parts storage, and parts cleaning using solvents including tetrachloroethylene (PCE). Cleanup under the Standard Cleanup program has included the removal of a 750-gallon waste oil underground storage tank, excavation and off-site disposal of approximately 28 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil, and installation of a french drain for surface water control. Ongoing groundwater contamination requires further remedial action, and the project remains active. 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.
Contamination at this property — petroleum hydrocarbons from waste oil storage and PCE from solvent-based parts washing — traces directly to wrecking-yard operations that ran for more than four decades before 1986. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the operators during that pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law and remain enforceable today. The documented remediation costs already incurred, and the additional cleanup the ongoing groundwater contamination will demand, represent expenditures that historical carriers may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward.
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.