This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility going back to 1985. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
LeatherCare Inc. has operated as a large industrial dry cleaning facility at this location since 1985, initially using tetrachloroethene (PCE) as its primary solvent before completing a full conversion to a silicone-based cleaner by 2005. Remediation has included catch basin and floor drain cleaning, soil excavation and dewatering of hydrocarbon contamination on an adjacent property from 1990 through 2001, installation of a permeable reactive barrier on that adjacent property, and in situ chemical oxidation using potassium permanganate in 2007. Five years of quarterly groundwater monitoring data have been collected in support of the recommended Monitored Natural Attenuation approach, with five additional years of annual monitoring proposed to complete the remedy. 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.
PCE contamination at this site originates from dry cleaning operations that began in 1985 — just one year before the industry-wide shift away from occurrence-based CGL policies that lacked effective pollution exclusions. The commingled plume, drawing from both LeatherCare's PCE use and the adjacent property's decades of petroleum storage and UST operations, compounds the remediation burden and broadens the potential carrier exposure. Documented cleanup costs spanning soil excavation, chemical oxidation, reactive barrier installation, and an extended groundwater monitoring program represent expenditures that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during LeatherCare's pre-1986 operational window may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward.
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.
