This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1946. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
Kingston Lumber Supply operated a retail lumberyard at this property from 1946 until its closure in 2010, with records from 1975 documenting gasoline dispensing from a 500-gallon underground storage tank within the building — operations that pre-dated permitting and resulted in a dispensing violation. Diesel above-ground storage tanks were also in use from 1987 through 2010. The proposed cleanup plan calls for excavation and off-site disposal of an estimated 250 tons of impacted soil, pumping and disposal of 5,000 gallons of contaminated groundwater, at least one year of post-remediation groundwater monitoring, and a contaminated area currently remains capped by asphalt. Total estimated remediation costs, including contingency, are $150,000. 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.
Petroleum contamination at this property traces to underground and above-ground fuel storage operations that were active well before 1986, the year occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies effectively ceased to cover pollution claims. The gasoline UST documented in 1975 records — and the lumber supply operation itself dating to 1946 — fall squarely within the decades when historical carriers issued CGL policies without enforceable pollution exclusions. The $150,000 in projected remediation costs, covering soil excavation, groundwater recovery, and ongoing monitoring, represent expenditures that historical carriers whose policies were in force during that pre-1986 window 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.
