This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property was the location of historical dry cleaning operations — the former NuWay Cleaners — along with multiple heating oil underground storage tanks, all of which contributed to soil and groundwater contamination on the site. In 2008, cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included excavation and off-site disposal of 6,081 tons of contaminated soil and removal of 105,000 gallons of affected groundwater; additional USTs were discovered and addressed during that same excavation. Three groundwater monitoring wells were installed in April 2009, and four consecutive quarterly monitoring events extending into 2010 confirmed the effectiveness of the cleanup. The site has since received 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.
The contamination found here — tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene, and Stoddard Solvent in soil and groundwater — originated from dry cleaning operations and heating oil UST infrastructure that predate 1986, the year after which occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies began incorporating effective pollution exclusions. The documented remediation expenditures at this site are substantial: over 6,000 tons of impacted soil excavated and disposed off-site, more than 100,000 gallons of groundwater extracted, multiple USTs decommissioned, and a multi-year post-excavation monitoring program completed. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the operators of NuWay Cleaners during that pre-1986 window may remain obligated to recover those costs.
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.
