This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1930. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property hosted a gasoline service station beginning in 1930 — originally an ARCO/Richfield Oil facility, later rebuilt as an expanded station around 1958. The second-generation station operated until it was demolished between 1979 and 1983, when the current Lakeview Medical building was constructed and three fuel underground storage tanks were removed. A remedial investigation confirmed groundwater contamination with gasoline-range organics, benzene, lead, and BTEX at concentrations exceeding MTCA Method A cleanup levels, along with confirmed vapor intrusion risk from benzene in soil gas. The site was addressed through the Voluntary Cleanup Program and has 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.
Petroleum contamination at this property traces to gasoline storage and dispensing operations that began in 1930 — more than five decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion. The three USTs removed in 1983 and the decades of fuel operations that preceded their removal created the groundwater contamination documented in the RI/FS, including benzene and lead exceeding state cleanup standards. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the station operators during that 53-year operational window may be obligated to cover the remediation costs incurred to bring the site to its 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.