This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1942. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This 4.7-acre property in Sunnyside began operations as an evaporated milk plant in 1942 and later transitioned to winery use, with the current winery operating on-site since 2007. Lead contamination in soil was traced to a former chemical storage building and historical site operations; tetrachloroethylene (PCE) was also detected in groundwater, attributed to an off-site dry cleaning source. Remediation under the Standard Cleanup program included storage tank removal, excavation of lead-impacted soil, and groundwater treatment through recovery wells, in-situ air sparging, bioslurping, in situ chemical oxidation, EHC-L injections, soil vapor extraction, and monitored natural attenuation — with an estimated remediation cost of up to $338,300. The site has achieved 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.
Manufacturing operations at this property date to 1942 — more than four decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were still the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The lead contamination documented in soil is directly attributed to those historical on-site operations, creating a clear nexus between pre-1986 activity and the remediation expenditures that followed. Carriers who issued CGL coverage during the evaporated milk plant and early winery years may bear liability for the cleanup costs that accumulated at this site.
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.
