This property has a documented history as a landfill predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property is the former Corliss Landfill, an abandoned solid waste landfill in Seattle's King County that was already closed and under geotechnical and geochemical investigation by 1984. A 1987 Hart Crowser report documented the site's conditions, identifying a broad contamination profile in groundwater and surface water — including metals, petroleum products, halogenated organics, PCBs, PAHs, phenolic compounds, and pesticides. The site was subsequently addressed through the Standard 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 Corliss Landfill operated as a solid waste disposal facility and was already abandoned before 1986, placing its entire operational life within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The contamination documented at this site — metals, petroleum products, PCBs, halogenated organics, and other landfill-characteristic pollutants across groundwater and surface water — is the legacy of those pre-1986 disposal operations. Historical carriers who provided CGL coverage during the landfill's active years may still hold obligations to recover the cleanup costs incurred to bring this site to its current No Further Action status.
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.