This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1969. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
Paxton Sales Corporation operated a machine shop and metal case-hardening facility at this Yakima property for approximately 25 years, with operations beginning around 1969. The shop used tetrachloroethene (PCE) and cutting oils containing halogenated hydrocarbons, with documented use of those cutting oils continuing through at least 1984. Cleanup activities included a multi-year bottled water program from April 1992 through August 1995 at a combined direct and coordination cost of approximately $126,560, along with a completed Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study, installation of groundwater monitoring wells, and Paxton Sales' assumption of Ecology's investigation and remedial action costs. The site has reached No Further Action status. 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.
Machine shop and case-hardening operations at this property trace to roughly 1969, and the cutting oils containing halogenated hydrocarbons were in documented use through 1984 — placing the contamination origin squarely within the era of occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies that carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented cost trail here — bottled water supply for affected residents, groundwater investigation, monitoring well installation, and reimbursement of Ecology's remedial costs — is directly tied to those pre-1986 operations. Historical CGL carriers whose policies covered Paxton Sales during the 1969–1984 operational window may bear obligations to recover those expenditures.
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.
