This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility going back to 1955. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
The Redmond Shopping Square retail strip mall was originally developed in 1955, and a coin-operated dry cleaning facility operated on the property during the late 1950s, releasing tetrachloroethylene (PCE) that contaminated soil and groundwater beneath the southwestern portion of the property. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included multiple soil excavations removing over 2,800 tons of contaminated material — approximately 2,660 tons of which was PCE-impacted soil — application of 50 gallons of Hydrogen Release Compound for in-situ treatment, and groundwater monitoring conducted from 2007 through 2011. An auto parts store on the property also contributed petroleum contamination through used-oil above-ground storage tanks. Washington State Ecology has issued a No Further Action determination for the site. 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.
The PCE contamination documented here originated from a coin-operated dry cleaning operation that ran during the late 1950s — roughly three decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were still the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The remediation record at this property — excavation of thousands of tons of PCE-impacted soil, in-situ chemical treatment, and years of groundwater monitoring — reflects the full cost trail of a slow, cumulative release tied directly to those pre-1986 dry cleaning operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to operators of the facility during that window may still be obligated to recover those cleanup 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
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.
