This property has a documented history as a landfill going back to 1900. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.

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.

Contamination at this property traces to two pre-1986 sources spanning nearly a century of combined activity: five decades of landfill-deposited municipal and industrial waste now manifesting as methane generation and chemical residues, and petroleum contamination from a towing operation that continued applying black oil through the late 1980s. Both contamination pathways were active during the era when occurrence-based CGL policies covering these operations carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The investigation, remedial design, and cleanup costs the property owner now faces — addressing landfill-derived methane, impacted soils, and capped waste deposits — could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose policies were in force across those decades of operation.

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.