This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
The Gais Bakery property in Seattle has operated as a large-scale bakery, corporate office, and distribution center, with multiple underground storage tanks supporting its fleet fueling and facility heating operations. Remediation activities beginning in 1997 included the removal of a 10,000-gallon leaded gasoline UST, a 500-gallon used oil UST, and an 8,000- to 10,000-gallon diesel UST, along with excavation of approximately 260 tons of petroleum-impacted soil. Two Bunker-C oil tanks were partially removed and rinsed, and a diesel pump system was decommissioned in 1998. The site has remained on the state hazardous sites list since 1997, with cleanup work ongoing. 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 presence of a leaded gasoline underground storage tank at this facility places the contamination origin squarely in the pre-1986 era, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Documented remediation expenditures — multiple tank removals, hundreds of tons of soil excavation, decommissioning of fueling infrastructure, and decades of site management — represent costs tied to releases from those historical operations. The CGL carriers who insured this facility during the years those tanks were in service may be obligated both to recover past cleanup costs and to fund the remediation still ahead.
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.