This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1924. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This Tacoma property hosted industrial operations beginning in 1924, when a coal gasification plant commenced and ran through 1956; bulk fuel storage tanks were present on site from 1950 to 1978. Since 1967, Joseph Simon and Sons, Inc. has operated a metal recycling business at the property, disassembling appliances, automobiles, batteries, transformers, and other industrial materials. Remediation of the property — part of the broader Tacoma Tar Pits Site — involved excavation and removal of 963 tons of contaminated soil to depths of up to four feet, capping with clean fill, and ongoing monitoring under a restrictive covenant; total site remediation costs were estimated at $15 million. The site has reached No Further Action status, though the restrictive covenant with continued monitoring and maintenance remains in effect. 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 at this property originated from a century of overlapping industrial uses — coal gasification, bulk fuel storage, and metal recycling — all of which were active for decades before 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies still governed commercial liability with no effective pollution exclusion. EPA initiated investigations here as early as 1984, establishing that the release predates modern coverage requirements. The $15 million remediation estimate, together with the excavation of nearly 1,000 tons of impacted soil and the imposition of a permanent restrictive covenant, reflects a cleanup burden tied directly to pre-1986 operations that historical carriers may be obligated to fund.
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.
