This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility going back to 1930. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations 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 dry cleaning operations at this site began in the early 1930s and continued for more than five decades before being shut down for regulatory violations in December 1984 — entirely within the era of occurrence-based CGL policies that carried no effective pollution exclusion. Regulatory agencies were documenting contamination at this property as early as 1981, and the historical operators' insurers from that window remain potentially exposed to the full scope of the selected remedy. The $1.48 million remediation program now underway — ERH, biostimulation, vapor extraction, and years of monitoring — represents costs that historical carriers whose policies were in force during those decades of PCE use 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.