This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1904. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property has been in continuous industrial use since at least 1904, with Sanborn maps confirming activity at that date and city records documenting construction in 1918. Historical occupants included a foundry, machine shops, a painting contractor, a scrap yard, and a range of small manufacturers producing marine metal products, wire, aluminum boats, neon signs, and inert atmospheric gases — a mix of operations consistent with the chlorinated solvents, petroleum hydrocarbons, and metals contamination subsequently found at the site. Cleanup activities from 1998 to 2001 included the removal of three underground storage tanks, excavation of approximately 460 tons of impacted soil, and off-site disposal of roughly 7,172 gallons of contaminated groundwater and 1,400 gallons of oily product and rinse water, followed by quarterly groundwater monitoring through 2003. 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 trichloroethene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, and tetrachloroethene detected at this site are the direct byproducts of foundry operations, solvent-reliant manufacturing, and painting work that ran for decades before 1986 — and each of those operators would have carried Commercial General Liability coverage during a period when such policies had no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation here — three tank removals, hundreds of tons of excavated soil, thousands of gallons of extracted groundwater — represents expenditures traceable to those specific historical tenants and the insurers who covered them. Where cleanup work remains ongoing, those carriers may remain obligated to fund future remediation as well.
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
Ready to learn more?
Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
