This property has a documented history as a auto body / repair shop predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property has been occupied by an automobile repair shop and a gasoline service station since before the 1940s, with PCE-bearing degreasing operations under the garage bay and petroleum releases from fueling and heating-oil underground storage tanks contributing to soil and groundwater contamination. Remediation under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included the excavation and off-site disposal of approximately 78 tons of PCE- and petroleum-contaminated soils, application of Oxygen Releasing Compound to promote in-situ bioremediation of groundwater, quarterly groundwater monitoring from Fall 2014 through Spring 2016, and a vapor intrusion study. Ecology has issued a No Further Action determination for the site. 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 contamination at this property — tetrachloroethylene from auto repair degreasing and petroleum hydrocarbons from a gasoline and heating-oil operation — originated from activities that were underway well before the 1940s, decades before 1986 when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion. Documented remediation expenditures here — soil excavation, bioremediation, groundwater monitoring, and a vapor intrusion study — represent costs tied directly to releases from those long-running pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the automobile repair or fuel-station operators during that window may remain obligated to fund recovery of those cleanup costs.
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
Ready to learn more?
Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
