This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.

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 PCE at this property was released through infrastructure — a sump and concrete drain line installed inside the dry cleaning tenant space — that was in place and operating well before 1986, meaning the subsurface occurrence that triggered environmental liability almost certainly predates the pollution-exclusion era. The more than two decades of documented VCP work across multiple parcels — sump excavation, soil remediation, UST-associated removal — represent costs tied directly to that dry cleaning tenancy and the slow solvent migration it generated. Historical carriers whose occurrence-based CGL policies were in force while Five Corners Cleaners was operating may be obligated to fund recovery of those expenditures.

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.