This property has a documented history as a landfill going back to 1900. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.

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.

Municipal waste disposal at this property began more than eight decades before 1986, during the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The contamination potential from decades of landfill operations — household refuse, municipal wastes, and excavation debris deposited directly into the ground — represents the kind of gradual, long-duration environmental exposure these pre-1986 policies were designed to cover. Historical carriers who provided CGL coverage to the operators during those decades of active disposal may still bear obligation for the remediation and closure costs already incurred at the site.

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.