This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1958. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
The Duwamish Marine Center property has been in continuous industrial use since at least the late 1950s, with operations encompassing metal fabrication, a junk dealership, marine dock and railway infrastructure, and commercial shipping storage on a site first developed in the 1930s. An interim cleanup action in 2002 removed 20 cubic yards of lead-contaminated soil by excavation and offsite disposal, followed by backfilling with clean material. Remediation remains active under an Agreed Order in place since 2011, with current work including periodic catch-basin sediment removal and operation of a stormwater treatment system employing electrocoagulation, sedimentation, and filtration. 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.
Contamination at this site is attributable to historical operations — metal fabrication, junk dealing, and marine industrial activity — that were well underway before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still governed and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. A UST installed in 1964 and industrial development extending back to the 1930s place this site squarely within the coverage window those policies were designed to address. The documented and continuing remediation costs — excavation, Agreed Order compliance, sediment management, long-term stormwater treatment — represent expenditures that historical carriers may be obligated both to recover and to fund as cleanup proceeds.
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.
