This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1952. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
This property in Sumner has operated as a wood manufacturing facility since at least 1952, with Pasquier Panel Products, Inc. as its principal occupant; site buildings date to as early as 1921, with additional structures erected in 1950 and 1976. Contamination — petroleum hydrocarbons, halogenated and non-halogenated VOCs, and metals — has been linked to a former underground storage tank and a historical spill at the rail spur. Investigation to date has included soil vapor sampling and the containment of approximately 110 gallons of investigation-derived waste; active remediation has not yet commenced. 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.
Industrial operations at this property trace to at least 1952 — with building records extending to before the 1920s — placing the contamination sources firmly within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The former underground storage tank and rail-spur spill that produced the petroleum hydrocarbon, solvent, and metals contamination here are precisely the releases those pre-1986 policies were written to cover. The investigation and cleanup costs this property now faces could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose CGL policies were in force during the decades of industrial manufacturing operations prior to 1986.
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.
