This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1938. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
This property operated as a paint manufacturing facility from at least 1938, first as Solastic Products Company and later as Cowman Campbell Paint Co., with operations continuing through at least 1985. Six underground storage tanks — containing heating oil, mineral spirits, propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, xylol, and VMP Naphtha used in paint production — were removed in 1990, and groundwater monitoring followed from 1996 through 2018, including the replacement of several monitoring wells in 2014. As of early 2019, an additional groundwater treatment system and new monitoring wells are being installed under the Standard 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.
Paint manufacturing operations at this property ran continuously for at least four decades before 1986, during which industrial solvents and chemicals stored in underground tanks were integral to daily production. Applying a standard 25-year tank lifecycle to the USTs removed in 1990 places their installation around 1965 — squarely within the era when occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The groundwater investigation and treatment costs now being incurred to address contamination tied directly to those pre-1986 operations are the kind of expenditures that historical carriers may be obligated to fund.
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.
