This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility going back to 1984. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
The CMX Corp site is part of the Yakima Railroad Area, where tetrachloroethylene (PCE) contamination in soil and groundwater has been attributed to multiple Potentially Liable Persons named in an Enforcement Order, including Frank Wear Cleaners, Nu-Way Dry Cleaners, and CMX Corporation — a facility explicitly documented as active at this location since 1984. Remediation included a multi-year bottled water supply program providing ten gallons per resident per month, with documented participation costs of $6,322.17 for the period July 1992 through March 1993, and the concrete sealing of an identified sump. Cleanup has since advanced to the active Operations and Maintenance and monitoring phase, with quarterly cost reporting reflecting expenditures that continue to accrue. 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.
CMX Corporation's operations at this site began in 1984, and the PCE contamination is directly tied to those pre-1986 practices — specifically, disposal through floor drains indicative of the operational standards of that era. The documented remediation record already spans years of bottled water supply, sump remediation, and quarterly-tracked costs; the site's ongoing O&M and monitoring phase means that obligations are not limited to what has already been spent. Historical carriers whose policies covered CMX Corporation during its documented operational window from 1984 onward may be obligated both to reimburse those past expenditures and to fund the active monitoring work that remains.
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.
