This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1976. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This Yakima property operated as a machine shop from around 1976 until 1994, with operations that included dumping degreasing solvent directly into a drain field on the light-industrial site. A site investigation was conducted to evaluate whether that disposal practice had resulted in soil or groundwater contamination; the investigation concluded that no contaminant concentrations exceeded applicable regulatory standards, and a No Further Action determination was issued. No remediation activities were required or undertaken. 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 machine shop's degreasing-solvent disposal practices trace to operations that began a decade before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and contained no effective pollution exclusion. Even where a site ultimately receives a No Further Action determination, the investigation itself represents real expenditure; historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the pre-1986 operational window may be obligated to fund those investigation costs. The absence of a remediation obligation does not extinguish claims against policies that were in force when the solvent disposal first occurred.
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.
