This property has a documented history as a landfill going back to 1956. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
The Former Fox Island Landfill accepted mixed municipal and industrial waste from 1956 through 1976, receiving car bodies, household appliances, asphalts, yard waste, scrap metal, concrete pipe, and other refuse documented in a Tacoma Pierce County Health Department Closed Landfill Report. The site has been identified as potentially contaminated and listed for Standard Cleanup, but no active remediation has commenced; the record to date consists of an initial investigation and an early notice letter. 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 landfill's twenty-year operational history — from 1956 through 1976 — predates the 1986 watershed by a full decade, a period during which occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies covered pollution liability with no effective exclusion. The mixed waste stream accepted at this site, including metals, petroleum-derived materials, and household chemicals, is precisely the type of legacy contamination those pre-1986 policies were written to cover. With Standard Cleanup proceedings ahead and no remediation costs yet incurred, responsible parties face potentially significant future expenditures that historical CGL carriers may be obligated to fund.
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.
