This property has a documented history as a auto body / repair shop going back to 1940. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
This property has been in continuous automotive use since the 1940s — first as an automobile repair shop through 1977, then as a machine shop through 1979, and again as an auto body repair and painting facility under Arnold's Auto Body & Sales from 1991 to the present. Historical operations involved paints, thinners, solvents, and aged diesel, with on-site equipment including a paint booth, hydraulic lift, welding equipment, and frame machine. Prior to a Snohomish Health District site visit, three to five 55-gallon drums containing leaking hazardous wastes were removed from the property, and the site is now enrolled in Standard Cleanup with active remediation yet to commence. 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 contamination here — paints, thinners, solvents, aged diesel, and metals — originated from automotive and machine-shop operations that began in the 1940s, more than four decades before 1986. Occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies covering auto body and repair operations during that era carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington and remain potentially enforceable. With the site awaiting cleanup, the investigation, remediation design, and actual cleanup costs ahead could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose policies were in force when these releases first occurred.
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.
