This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property in downtown Kirkland operated as an Exxon gasoline service station prior to 1990, with two pump islands and multiple underground storage tanks totaling at least 24,000 gallons of gasoline capacity. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included removal of the USTs, excavation of approximately 1,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil, groundwater pump-and-treat operations, and soil vapor extraction and air sparging systems that ran intermittently from 1991 through 1999. Residual contamination remains beneath an engineered cap and is governed by a restrictive covenant, with five-year periodic reviews ongoing since 2012. The site has received a No Further Action determination. 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.
Gasoline contamination at this property originated from underground storage tanks installed and operated well before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Nearly a decade of active remediation — large-scale soil excavation, groundwater treatment, vapor extraction, air sparging — followed by institutional controls and periodic reviews represents a substantial trail of documented cleanup expenditures tied directly to those pre-1986 fueling operations. Historical carriers who provided CGL coverage during the station's operating years may still be obligated to recover those 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.
