This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
A former dry cleaning tenant at this Tacoma commercial plaza released tetrachloroethylene (PCE) at two locations within the Center Street Plaza building: south of the former dry cleaning suite (former Suite Q) and through a leak in the sanitary sewer beneath former Suite L. Remediation under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included multiple soil excavations, in-situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) treatments in 2006 and 2012 using a total of 2,100 pounds of product, and the implementation of an Environmental Covenant establishing ongoing institutional controls. Long-term groundwater monitoring continues as a multi-year project, and the site has reached 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.
The chlorinated solvent contamination at this property traces to a dry cleaning tenant whose releases are characterized in the record as historical, tied to commercial activity at a site that was actively developed and filled between 1969 and 1985 — entirely before 1986. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the dry cleaning operator or property owner during that pre-1986 period contained no effective pollution exclusion and remain potentially enforceable today. The documented remediation expenditures — repeated soil excavations, two rounds of chemical oxidation, an Environmental Covenant, and ongoing groundwater monitoring — represent costs that historical carriers may 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.
