This property has a documented history as a farm and agricultural operation predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as Bills Feed & Tack, an agricultural supply business on Bayview Road in Langley, with at least one underground storage tank used for petroleum storage. A release from the UST was identified and the site was listed in Ecology's Leaking Underground Storage Tank database. Independent remedial actions addressing petroleum contamination in soil and groundwater were carried out from 1999 through 2001, and Ecology issued a No Further Action determination 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 petroleum release at this property originated from an underground storage tank consistent with pre-1986 installation, the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Two years of independent remedial action — investigating and remediating petroleum-impacted soil and groundwater — generated cleanup expenditures tied directly to that historical tank operation. CGL carriers whose policies were in effect during the tank's operating life may still be obligated to recover those documented remediation costs.
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.
