This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility going back to 1906. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.

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.

Dye works and dry cleaning operations using petroleum products and solvents were conducted at this property for decades before 1986, the threshold year after which occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies began routinely excluding pollution claims. The contamination identified across multiple parcels — tied to historical solvent and fuel use stretching back at least to the early twentieth century — is precisely the class of slow-onset environmental release those pre-1986 policies were written to cover. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to operators during that long pre-1986 window may bear liability for investigation, remediation design, and cleanup costs that are only now being formally addressed.

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.