This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1958. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
Flint Ink Corporation — also operating as Sinclair & Valentine — used this Seattle property for the customizing and repackaging of printing inks from 1958 through 1992, with operations centered on metal-based pigments and petroleum hydrocarbons throughout that period. Remediation under the Standard Cleanup program included excavation and disposal of approximately 75 cubic yards of contaminated soil, removal of two underground storage tanks, and decommissioning of a monitoring well. The site has reached No Further Action status, with ongoing obligations consisting of a three-year semi-annual groundwater monitoring program and a restrictive covenant recorded on the property deed. 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.
Ink manufacturing and repackaging operations at this property began in 1958 — nearly three decades before 1986 — when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The metal-based pigments and petroleum hydrocarbons introduced during that pre-1986 window are the direct source of the contamination that drove documented remediation costs: UST removals, soil excavation, monitoring, and a permanent deed restriction. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to Flint Ink Corporation or Sinclair & Valentine during that operational period may still be obligated to recover those cleanup expenditures.
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.
