This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1935. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property has operated as a gasoline station since 1935, with a succession of oil company brands retailing fuel at the site over the decades. Underground storage tanks installed in 1950 and 1974 — containing leaded and unleaded gasoline and diesel fuel — were the source of contamination linked to leaking USTs. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included excavation of approximately 14,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil, groundwater dewatering and chemical oxidation treatment, and operation of an SVE/air sparge system that removed over 21,000 pounds of contaminants across a project spanning more than ten years of remediation and monitoring. The site has received a No Further Action determination. 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.
Petroleum contamination at this property traces to underground storage tanks installed in 1950 and 1974 — squarely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The estimated remediation costs starting at $4,580,000 — encompassing massive soil excavation, groundwater treatment, vapor extraction, and long-term monitoring — represent the scale of liability that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during those decades of fueling operations may still be obligated to cover.
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.
