This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1910. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
Markey Machinery has manufactured and fabricated marine vessel and dock equipment at this Seattle property since the 1910s, with site structures in place as early as 1941. Contamination is attributed to a former diesel underground storage tank, a hydraulic press, and a drywell associated with an air compressor — sources consistent with a century of heavy industrial fabrication. Under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, remediation between 2019 and 2021 included excavation of approximately 357 tons of impacted soil and recovery of roughly 56,900 gallons of contaminated groundwater through dewatering and an automated recovery system. The site has received a No Further Action determination, with an Environmental Covenant, cap maintenance requirements, and ongoing groundwater monitoring remaining in place. 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 three contamination sources documented here — a diesel UST, a hydraulic press, and an air-compressor drywell — were active features of Markey Machinery's fabrication operations throughout the decades before 1986. Each represented a release pathway accumulating liability during a period when CGL policies written for industrial manufacturers like this one were occurrence-based and covered environmental claims. The documented cleanup costs — nearly 357 tons of excavated soil, over 56,000 gallons of groundwater recovered, years of monitoring, and a recorded Environmental Covenant — are expenses tied directly to that pre-1986 operational history, and historical carriers who issued policies during Markey Machinery's manufacturing years may remain obligated to recover them.
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.
