This property has a documented history as an industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could help fund the cleanup that lies ahead.
This industrial manufacturing property — operated by Williams Controls and now owned by Curtiss-Wright Corporation — has a well-established groundwater plume of chlorinated volatile organic compounds documented since at least 2004, when the site entered Oregon DEQ's Voluntary Cleanup Program. Sub-slab vapors beneath a warehouse have impacted indoor air quality for workers, and the groundwater plume has migrated off-site to the adjacent Gerber Site and poses ecological risks to Ball Creek and Fanno Creek. A Focused Feasibility Study was submitted to Oregon DEQ in December 2024, a supplemental Remedial Investigation Work Plan is under development by Ramboll, and an ecological screening work plan is due by October 31, 2025 — cleanup investigation and remediation planning remain actively underway with no completion in sight. That history could support an insurance coverage claim against the carriers who issued policies more than 40 years ago — coverage that could help fund the cleanup ahead.
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 Oregon — and those policies may provide coverage that remains enforceable today. 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.
Chlorinated solvent plumes of the scale documented here — affecting groundwater, indoor air, and nearby surface water — are characteristic of decades of industrial manufacturing use at this facility, consistent with contamination originating well before 1986. The supplemental remedial investigation, ecological screening, off-site plume remediation, and long-term monitoring costs this property still faces represent substantial future obligations that historical pre-1986 carriers issued to operators during the years when contamination originated 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.
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
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.