This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1960. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
Manson Construction Company used this Gig Harbor beach property as a marine contractor yard from approximately 1960 through 1990, burning demolition debris, storing heavy equipment and construction materials, and filling portions of the site with slag from the former Asarco Smelter. Slag removal began as early as 1988, followed by a major remediation phase from 2002 to 2003 that excavated 14,060 tons of contaminated fill, sediment, and slag — including approximately 4,400 cubic yards of soil. A two-foot soil cap was installed, groundwater monitoring was conducted from 1999 through at least 2004, and the site ultimately received a No Further Action determination with all remediation costs covered by the liable parties. 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.
Manson's operations at this site began around 1960, meaning the contamination sources identified here — slag fill, burned demolition debris, and impacted sediments — were accumulating for more than two decades before 1986. Occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies issued to Manson during any portion of that pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion and remain enforceable today. Historical carriers whose policies were in force before 1986 may be obligated to contribute to the remediation costs already incurred to close this 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.
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.
