This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1941. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a Texaco service station from 1941 to at least 1966 and currently functions as an active retail diesel facility with six dispenser islands and a 20,000-gallon underground storage tank. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included removal of 2.41 tons of contaminated soil and a multi-year groundwater monitoring program from 2004 through 2008, during which monitoring wells tracked lead contamination through natural attenuation. The site has received a No Further Action determination. 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.
Lead contamination in groundwater at this property is tied to decades of gasoline service operations that began in 1941 — more than four decades before occurrence-based CGL policies gave way to claims-made forms with pollution exclusions. The remediation costs incurred here, from soil removal to years of groundwater monitoring and well installation, arose from releases that occurred squarely within the coverage window of those historical policies. Carriers who wrote occurrence-based CGL coverage for the Texaco service station during its pre-1986 operational period may still owe a duty to reimburse those documented cleanup expenditures.
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.
