This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility going back to 1959. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.

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.

Twenty-six years of PCE dry cleaning operations at Crest Linen — from 1959 through 1985 — fall entirely within the era when occurrence-based CGL policies were standard. The 1991 Phase II investigation confirmed that PCE had migrated into groundwater at concentrations exceeding Method A Cleanup Levels, establishing a documented release tied directly to those insured operations. With the site now carrying a No Further Action determination, the full scope of investigation and remediation costs is defined — a concrete, quantified basis for recovering those expenditures from the historical carriers who covered Crest Linen during the decades the contamination occurred.

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.