This property has a documented history as a auto body / repair shop going back to 1948. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a truck and auto repair facility from 1948 through 2018 — first under Hahn Motors from 1948 to 1974, then under lessee Robert Pool from 1974 onward. Two underground storage tanks were installed on site: a 4,000-gallon UST in 1948 and a second in 1968. Investigations confirmed petroleum hydrocarbon contamination exceeding cleanup goals in soils and detected tetrachloroethylene (PCE), metals, and volatile organic compounds in both soil and groundwater. The site completed the Voluntary Cleanup Program and received a No Further Action determination from Ecology. 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.
Hahn Motors and Robert Pool operated this truck repair facility for nearly four decades before 1986, during which underground storage tanks leaked petroleum products and chlorinated solvents into the soil and groundwater. CGL policies issued to those operators — covering a continuous operation stretching back to 1948 — would have been occurrence-based, with no effective pollution exclusion. The remediation costs incurred to bring this site through the Voluntary Cleanup Program to No Further Action status represent expenditures those historical carriers may still be obligated to cover.
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.