This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1960. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
This Aberdeen property operated as a battery manufacturing facility — producing car and truck batteries on site — beginning in the 1960s, with operations continuing through successive ownership including Exide. Lead contamination resulted from battery fluid handling, cleaning, and charging activities carried out over a long period, with documented contamination concentrated in the dirt floor of an on-site battery maintenance shed. To date, no remediation has been attempted; the only documented recommendation is to install a physical barrier and cover over the contaminated soil to limit human contact and prevent leachate. The current owner has operated the site for battery sales and light service activities for the past four years. 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.
Battery manufacturing and the routine handling of lead-bearing battery fluids at this property began in the 1960s — more than two decades before the 1986 threshold at which occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies stopped reliably covering pollution liability. The contamination here is explicitly attributed to poor business practices and routine dumping sustained over a long period, precisely the type of gradual, ongoing release that pre-1986 CGL policies were written to address. With no remediation yet undertaken and a contaminated soil floor still unaddressed, the full cost of cleanup lies ahead — costs that historical carriers whose policies were in force during the manufacturing era may be obligated to fund.
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
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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.
