This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1981. 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 gasoline service station — known as the Jackpot Food Mart — with underground storage tanks, piping, and fuel dispensers serving retail customers. A gasoline leak was discovered at a dispenser in November 2001, and 50 gallons of free product were recovered from the sump beneath it. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program has included operation of an Air Sparge/Soil Vapor Extraction system from 2002 to 2007, removal of all tanks, piping, and dispensers in December 2006, multiple rounds of Oxygen Release Compound injection in 2013 and 2017, and extensive groundwater monitoring continuing from 2002 through at least 2018. Heavy petroleum contamination was confirmed beneath the dispenser island, with TPH and BTEX impacts in both soil and groundwater. 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 underground storage tanks at this site were installed no later than 1981 — well within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The contamination discovered in 2001 was the result of slow, cumulative releases from those pre-1986 fueling operations, exactly the type of long-tail environmental loss these policies were written to cover. More than sixteen years of documented remediation expenditures — vapor extraction, tank removal, chemical injection, and ongoing monitoring — represent costs the historical carriers may be obligated both to reimburse and to continue funding as cleanup work proceeds.
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.