This property has a documented history as a automobile dealership going back to 1973. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as an automobile dealership — under the names Everett Chevrolet and Harrington Chevrolet — since at least 1973, with a new and used car showroom and service department on site. Two 500-gallon underground storage tanks containing used oil were present and operating at the property prior to their removal in 1988. Dealership operations ceased in mid-2010, and remediation under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included excavation and off-site disposal of approximately 459 tons of petroleum-impacted soil and 406 cubic yards of impacted soil, along with removal of USTs, hydraulic lifts, and a storm sewer catch basin, and demolition of site structures. Quarterly groundwater monitoring ran from early 2013 through January 2015, after which eight monitoring wells were decommissioned and the site received 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.
The two 500-gallon used-oil USTs at this property were installed and in operation well before 1986 and were not removed until 1988 — meaning the releases that drove the VCP-documented soil and groundwater contamination originated during the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the dealership industry standard. Those pre-1986 policies had no effective pollution exclusion, and the remediation costs documented here — excavation of 459 tons of petroleum-impacted soil, UST removals, and two-plus years of quarterly groundwater monitoring — represent expenditures tied directly to those pre-1986 UST operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the dealership operators during that window may still be obligated to contribute to the recovery of those documented cleanup costs.
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.
