This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility going back to 1961. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.

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 Certified Carpet facility began operations in 1961 — a quarter century before 1986 — and the prior gas station tenancy extends that operational history back to 1949. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to operators across that pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion, and the contamination at this site traces directly to those years of operation. The documented remediation expenditures — UST removals, soil excavation, six years of vapor extraction, and ongoing groundwater treatment — represent past costs that historical carriers may be obligated to recover; the proposed ISCO and carbon injection campaigns represent future work that those same 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.