This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1969. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This Renton facility has operated continuously since 1969 as a composite aircraft parts manufacturer — first under Kelley-Morrow Enterprises (KME), then AIM Aviation, AIM Aerospace, and currently Sekisui Aerospace — with manufacturing processes involving liquid chemicals, solvents, paint booths, and composite coatings throughout that period. Two underground fuel storage tanks were excavated and removed in 1988, though groundwater contamination at the site is attributed not to those tanks but to historical solvent use, with vinyl chloride — a solvent degradation product — identified as the primary contaminant in groundwater. Remediation is proceeding through natural attenuation, tracked by a multi-year monitoring program conducted semiannually and then quarterly since 2018, with monitoring expected to continue for several more years under the Voluntary Cleanup Program. 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 solvent-related contamination here traces directly to manufacturing operations that began in 1969 — more than fifteen years before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were still standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Vinyl chloride contamination of this kind, a slow-forming degradation product of historical solvent releases, is precisely the gradual environmental damage those pre-1986 policies were written to address. The site's documented and continuing monitoring costs, and the remediation expenditures anticipated as natural attenuation runs its course, represent liabilities that historical carriers who issued CGL policies to KME and its successors during that pre-1986 operational window may be obligated to recover and 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
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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.
