This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility going back to 1962. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property 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.

PCE contamination at House of Kleen traces directly to dry cleaning operations that began in 1962 and continued for more than two decades before 1986, creating a documented window of pre-1986 liability exposure specific to this site's history of PCE use. The remediation work already undertaken here — soil excavations, SZVI and 3DME injection campaigns, Electrical Resistance Heating, Soil Vapor Extraction, and activated-carbon dewatering — represents expenditures that historical carriers who issued policies during House of Kleen's pre-1986 operating years may be obligated to reimburse. With total remediation costs estimated between $2.8 million and $4.4 million and multi-year monitoring and potential follow-up injections still ahead, those same carriers may also be called upon to fund the cleanup work that remains.

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.