This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1948. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
The Portco Corp Pedigo Products facility in Vancouver has been in continuous industrial use since 1948, with primary operations encompassing paper converting, plastic extrusion, and pipe extrusion — the latter running until 1981. The site maintained nine underground storage tanks and one aboveground storage tank containing fuels, waste oil, and leaded gasoline to support on-site manufacturing, used tetrachloroethylene (PCE) for cleaning printing dies, and was designated a dangerous waste generator with PCB-containing ballasts on premises. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, concentrated between the late 1980s and early 1990s, included removal of all nine USTs and the AST, excavation and limited reuse of contaminated soils, asbestos abatement, abandonment of water wells, and disposal of PCB-containing ballasts. 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.
Contamination at this property — petroleum hydrocarbons from decades of on-site fuel storage in tanks installed as early as the 1950s, PCE from industrial die-cleaning operations, and PCBs from ballast equipment — traces directly to manufacturing activities that began in 1948, more than three decades before 1986. Occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies issued to Portco's operators during that pre-1986 window had no effective pollution exclusion and remain potentially enforceable under Washington law. The documented remediation expenditures — UST and AST removals, soil excavation, asbestos abatement, well abandonment — represent costs the historical carriers may be obligated both to recover for work already completed and to fund as cleanup continues.
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
Ready to learn more?
Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
