This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility going back to 1947. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property's environmental history spans decades: three 2,000-gallon underground storage tanks were installed in 1947 as part of a gasoline service station and operated until at least 1970, while the broader parcel saw use as farmland until 1962 and an auto dealership through the 1970s before commercial redevelopment in 1988. Simon & Son Drycleaning then operated within the strip mall from 1989 through 1999, when a release of tetrachloroethylene (PCE) was detected in subsurface soils; the USTs removed in 1989 were separately found corroded with petroleum contamination in surrounding soil and groundwater. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program and a Consent Decree has included in-situ chemical oxidation, enhanced bioremediation, soil vapor extraction, DNAPL recovery, building demolition, and soil excavation, with groundwater monitoring and operations and maintenance continuing. 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 site originated from underground storage tanks installed in 1947 and operated through at least 1970 — squarely within the window when occurrence-based CGL policies were issued to service-station operators without effective pollution exclusion. Remediation costs attributable to those corroded tanks and their petroleum releases are documented expenditures that historical carriers from that 1947–1970 operational period may be obligated to fund. With groundwater monitoring and active operations and maintenance still ongoing under a Consent Decree, the financial exposure extends beyond recovering past cleanup costs to sharing responsibility for the continuing obligations at this site.
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.