This property has a documented history as a auto body / repair shop going back to 1977. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This Olympia property has been in commercial use since a concrete retail building was constructed on the site in 1977 by owner Helen D. Rhodes, and the surrounding area saw commercial and light-industrial activity dating to the late 1880s. A Phase II Environmental Site Assessment conducted in April 2013 identified gasoline-range hydrocarbons in groundwater at 1,200 µg/l — exceeding the MTCA Method A cleanup level of 800 µg/l — along with benzene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and petroleum-diesel compounds. The site entered the Voluntary Cleanup Program and received a No Further Action determination in March 2015. The property currently operates as T-Brothers Liquor Lodge. 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 commercial building on this property was constructed and put into service in 1977, nearly a decade before the 1986 shift away from occurrence-based Commercial General Liability coverage. CGL policies issued to the property owner during those pre-1986 years of operation carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. The petroleum hydrocarbon and PAH contamination documented in groundwater here represents the type of environmental liability those historical policies were designed to cover, and carriers who provided coverage during the 1977–1986 operational window may still be obligated to indemnify the associated investigation and 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.