This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as the Turner & Sons Shell Station, a gasoline and diesel service facility with three underground storage tanks totaling 19,000 gallons and a garage bay fitted with an underground hydraulic lift. Lead contamination discovered in the soil beneath the garage bay is consistent with operations predating 1986, when leaded gasoline remained in commercial use. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included demolition, removal of all three USTs, excavation of approximately 240 cubic yards of contaminated soil with off-site disposal, pumping and disposal of contaminated groundwater, and multi-year quarterly groundwater monitoring. The site has since 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.
The lead-impacted soil beneath the garage bay is a direct physical marker of operations during the era when leaded gasoline was still sold commercially — years when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Those pre-1986 policies respond to contamination that originated during the covered period, regardless of when remediation ultimately occurred. The documented cleanup expenditures here — UST removals, soil excavation, groundwater pumping, and long-term monitoring — are attributable to releases tied to that operational window, and historical carriers may still be obligated to fund their recovery.
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.
