This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1950. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property at 50 University Street has a commercial history dating to the early 1900s, including a blacksmith shop and a 1940s-era flour mill. From 1950 through the 1970s, a Richfield Oil gasoline station operated on the site with up to five underground storage tanks, two pump islands, and a service garage. Petroleum contamination from those operations — including diesel, gasoline, and free-phase product (LNAPL) — was identified in groundwater, with diesel-range and oil-range organics exceeding MTCA Method A cleanup levels. Cleanup was conducted under the Voluntary Cleanup Program and has reached No Further Action status. 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 petroleum releases at this property originated from a gasoline station that operated from 1950 into the 1970s — decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still covered pollution events without an effective exclusion. Arsenic, lead, and multiple petroleum fractions were all identified in groundwater at concentrations requiring remediation under state cleanup standards. The remediation expenditures incurred to bring this site to No Further Action status are the type of documented cleanup costs that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the station's operating years may be obligated to recover.
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.