This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank going back to 1916. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
The Melrose Apartment building, a three-story brick structure in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, was constructed in 1916 and operated continuously as a residential apartment complex. A boiler room with a clay pipe drainage system served the building for decades, and petroleum products were dumped into those drains over an extended period, resulting in oily sludge accumulation and significant diesel-range petroleum contamination in surrounding soils. A 1991 independent cleanup report documented the contamination; the site remains in Awaiting Cleanup status under the state's standard cleanup program. 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 boiler room operations and drainage infrastructure in continuous use since the building's 1916 construction — seventy years before the 1986 threshold after which occurrence-based CGL policies began excluding pollution claims. The cleanup costs the property owner now faces to address petroleum-affected soils and potential groundwater impacts could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose policies were in effect during the decades when petroleum products were being disposed of through the building's drainage system.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful coverage claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage. Restorical then manages the claim, including accounting, to ensure the cleanup is funded in a timely manner.
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.