This property has a documented history as a automobile dealership going back to 1960. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a used car dealership from at least the 1960s through 2000, when dealership operations ceased. Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) contamination was identified in groundwater beneath the site, with the source traced to an adjacent dry cleaning facility — Plaza Cleaners — which was listed as a Superfund site in 1982. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program involved implementing a Restrictive Covenant as an institutional control for seven years to contain hazardous substances and prevent exposure to contaminated groundwater; a portion of the property with PCE groundwater contamination was subsequently transferred to the adjacent Superfund remedial action. The property is currently used by Barrett Collision Store for vehicle parking. 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 PCE contamination at this property originated from Plaza Cleaners, an off-site dry cleaning operation already listed as a Superfund site by 1982 — placing the period of active contamination squarely in the pre-1986 era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The used car dealership that occupied this site from the 1960s onward was itself a pre-1986 operation subject to those same policy terms. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to operators at this property during that window may bear obligations connected to the investigation costs, the seven-year institutional control, and the ongoing Superfund remedial action now addressing the PCE groundwater plume.
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.
