This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility going back to 1963. 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 chlorinated solvent contamination at the Coleman Building — PCE, TCE, and vinyl chloride — originated from dry cleaning operations that ran from 1963 through 1973, more than a decade before 1986 when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies ceased to reliably cover pollution claims. Carriers who issued CGL policies to operators of this building during that window had no effective pollution exclusion in Washington and may remain obligated to respond. The documented remediation expenditures — soil excavation, UST removal, chemical oxidation treatment, and years of monitoring — alongside the projected future remediation costs represent precisely the liabilities those pre-1986 policies were written to cover.

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.