This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1961. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
The Pallister Paint property in Everett operated from 1961 to 1985 under William Pallister as a facility for the storage, recycling, and salvaging of industrial chemicals — paints, epoxies, canvas preservatives, solvents, caustics, and resins. An EPA immediate removal action conducted between 1985 and 1987 involved inventorying, sampling, characterizing, and transporting thousands of containers of hazardous wastes off-site, along with the erection of an eight-foot perimeter fence for site security. More recently, a resident excavated contaminated soil and a PCB spill area was covered with soil; the site remains classified as awaiting full cleanup under the Standard 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.
Twenty-four years of industrial chemical handling — solvents, caustics, PCBs, and a broad range of other hazardous materials — generated contamination entirely attributable to operations that concluded before 1986. Occurrence-based CGL policies in force from 1961 through 1985 carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law and were written precisely to respond to the slow-release contamination that results from long-term chemical storage and salvage activity. The costs already documented — an EPA removal action spanning two years, characterization of thousands of waste containers, soil excavation — and the full site cleanup still ahead represent expenditures that historical carriers from that operational window 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 & 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.
