This property has a documented history as a landfill going back to 1975. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
The Soushek Property in Maple Valley operated as a large, privately owned non-permitted landfill for an estimated 15 to 20 years prior to 1995, receiving construction and demolition debris, wrecked automobiles, old appliances, heavy equipment, petroleum fuels and oils, drums of unknown materials, and general garbage across a substantial portion of the site. Independent remedial actions were conducted under the Voluntary Cleanup Program and deemed sufficient by the Department of Ecology, which issued an interim No Further Action determination in 2002 and a final NFA in 2006. 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 — petroleum hydrocarbons, oils, and the contents of drums of unknown materials — accumulated continuously over more than a decade of unpermitted landfill operations that began well before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies lacked effective pollution exclusions. The independent remediation that ultimately satisfied Ecology's NFA standard represents documented cleanup expenditures tied directly to those pre-1986 disposal activities. Historical carriers who issued CGL coverage to the property owner or operators during the site's active landfill years may retain financial obligations for those remediation 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.
