This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property has a documented industrial history stretching back to a World War I-era shipyard and sawmill, with shipbuilding operations recommencing during World War II and the site subsequently leased to a succession of Port of Tacoma tenants for freight hauling and distribution, furniture manufacturing, fishing fleet outfitting and support drilling, lumber milling, and vessel mooring, maintenance, decommissioning, and dismantling. The breadth and duration of those industrial activities resulted in the site's placement on the National Priorities List — the federal Superfund registry — in 1983, reflecting contamination already present from decades of heavy port-industrial use. Cleanup activities are ongoing under Washington's Standard Cleanup program. 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 that earned this property Superfund designation in 1983 was the product of industrial operations conducted continuously from at least World War I through the mid-1980s — well within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington State. Each successive operator and Port tenant conducting shipbuilding, ship repair, dismantling, and related industrial activities during that period may have triggered coverage under policies that remain enforceable today. The remediation costs associated with a site of this scale and history represent exactly the kind of long-tail liability those pre-1986 policies were written to address.
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
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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.
