This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
The New Frontier Lanes property in Tacoma was the site of chlorinated hydrocarbon contamination in groundwater, attributed to historical dry cleaning operations involving perchloroethylene (PCE) and its degradation products — vinyl chloride, cis-1,2-dichloroethene, and chloroform. An independent remedial action addressed the contamination, followed by a Restrictive Covenant established in October 2001 that restricted groundwater use and required quarterly monitoring until four consecutive quarters demonstrated attainment of site-specific cleanup levels. Those objectives were met within the required four quarters, and the Restrictive Covenant was released in July 2002. The site now holds No Further Action status under the Voluntary Cleanup Program. 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 and its breakdown products are the chemical signature of dry cleaning operations, and their presence in the groundwater here points to historical releases that occurred well before 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The independent remedial action and the quarterly monitoring program — four quarters of sampling needed to demonstrate cleanup-level attainment — represent documented expenditures tied directly to that pre-1986 release. Historical carriers who issued CGL coverage during the operational period at this property may be obligated to fund recovery of those remediation 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
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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.
