This property has a documented history as a landfill predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
This property, formerly known as the Lehman-Milliard Dump Site, was used by tenants who improperly stored and treated solid and hazardous wastes received from various businesses — burning materials in a custom-made incinerator and depositing the resulting ash directly on the ground. The tenants were evicted in 1996, after which an initial cleanup removed solid and hazardous wastes from the site and a buried ballast was disposed of in 2002. A 2003 assessment estimated approximately 120 cubic yards of PCB-contaminated soil requiring treatment or removal, and that excavation work has not yet commenced. 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 incineration and hazardous-waste disposal operations that produced PCB contamination at this property predated the 1996 eviction — a contamination timeline consistent with operations that began before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The excavation of 120 cubic yards of PCB-impacted soil that still lies ahead represents a defined, unrecovered remediation liability. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to operators of the dump during that pre-1986 window may be obligated to fund the costs of that upcoming cleanup.
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
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.
