This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1967. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
E. J. Rody and Sons operated an industrial facility in Tacoma with on-site fleet fueling infrastructure, including multiple underground storage tanks storing gasoline and diesel for company vehicles. Contamination from tank and piping failures — including an abandoned 500-gallon gasoline UST that had been out of service for many years — led to a multi-year cleanup effort from 1992 through 1994 under the Standard Cleanup program. Remediation involved UST removal, excavation of petroleum-contaminated soils, on-site soil treatment, and disposal of tank contents across both the Rody & Sons and adjacent Kim Nursery properties. The site has received a No Further Action determination from Ecology. 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 presence of total lead in soil samples confirms that leaded gasoline was stored and dispensed at this facility, placing fueling operations squarely before 1986 — the year occurrence-based CGL policies ceased to be the industry standard. The contamination here resulted from slow, cumulative releases through tank deterioration and piping failures over decades of use, precisely the kind of gradual pollution event that pre-1986 occurrence-based policies were written to cover. The documented cleanup expenditures — tank removal, soil excavation, on-site treatment, and regulatory oversight fees — represent costs that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the facility's active fueling years may still be obligated to reimburse.
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.
