This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1974. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property has operated as a metal plating facility since 1974, when Pete Petrik purchased it and established Metal Finishing & Plating Company — later renamed Pacific Plating — running a small-scale copper, nickel, chrome, and brass plating operation. The facility used cyanide, cadmium, chromium, copper, zinc, and trichloroethylene in its industrial processes, and a decommissioned underground storage tank previously used for gasoline has also been identified on-site. Environmental investigations have documented contaminants above cleanup levels across the property; no active remediation has commenced, and the current phase calls for further investigation before cleanup design can proceed. 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.
Metal plating operations involving chromium, cyanide, and trichloroethylene were underway at this site by 1974 — more than a decade before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies ceased to effectively cover pollution claims in Washington. An Ecology inspection in 1986 confirmed those operations were still active, placing the contamination-generating period squarely within the pre-1986 CGL window. As investigation advances toward active remediation, the costs of addressing heavy-metal and chlorinated-solvent contamination tied to those plating operations may be both recoverable from and fundable by historical carriers whose policies were in force during that period.
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.
