This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1980. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as the Unicraft printing facility from 1980 through 1994, housing multiple printing press lines — including 6-color and 4-color presses — and a dedicated solvent storage room. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program ran from approximately 1995 to 2010 and encompassed the excavation and removal of 500 cubic yards of petroleum- and solvent-contaminated soils distributed across three distinct source zones: the northern press area, the southern press area, and the solvent storage room, along with 18 soil borings, five groundwater monitoring wells, confirmation soil sampling, and four quarters of groundwater monitoring. The property was redeveloped for retail use as a Best Buy store in 2001 and has since achieved No Further Action status. 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.
Unicraft's printing and solvent-handling operations began in 1980, meaning the facility was active for six years before 1986 — the period during which occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The petroleum and solvent contamination documented across the former press and storage areas originated directly from those pre-1986 operations. Fifteen years of remediation expenditures, from multi-zone soil excavation through extended groundwater monitoring, represent cleanup costs that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during Unicraft's operational window may still be obligated to recover.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful cost recovery claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage for costs already incurred. Restorical's forensic accounting team works to re-establish and document past cleanup expenditures, ensuring the strongest possible basis for recovery.
Recovering Costs from an Older Cleanup
If this site reached No Further Action years ago, the original cleanup expenditures may be difficult to reconstruct. Restorical's forensic accounting team specializes in re-establishing and documenting past cleanup costs — even decades later — to build the strongest possible basis for an insurance recovery claim.
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.
