This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank going back to 1930. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a greenhouse and nursery from the 1930s through 1985, with a concrete 10,000-gallon underground storage tank supplying #2 diesel to fuel boilers for the greenhouse operations. The greenhouses were demolished in 1985, and a petroleum release linked to the historical UST was identified in 2001. Investigation by the Health District confirmed petroleum products in groundwater and surface water, and Ecology issued a No Further Action determination in May 2002. 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 contamination at this property traces directly to a 10,000-gallon underground storage tank that served greenhouse operations beginning in the 1930s — more than five decades before 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies were standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. Investigation and remediation costs incurred to address the diesel release from that UST are the type of expenditures those historical policies were written to cover. Carriers who issued CGL coverage during the decades of active greenhouse and fueling operations may still be obligated to reimburse those 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.