This property has a documented history as a landfill going back to 1969. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
Sand excavation began at this Everett property under a 1969 permit, and Rekoway, Inc. purchased the site in February 1972 to operate a solid waste landfill under a conditional use permit. Go East Corporation took over the property in 1979 and ran a wood waste landfill until waste acceptance ceased in summer 1983; a fire related to historical waste material burned until January 1986. A remedial investigation has confirmed elevated concentrations of metals — including manganese and iron — and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in groundwater and surface water attributable to landfill leachate, and cleanup construction under a Standard Cleanup program and Agreed Order has been completed, with performance monitoring ongoing. 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.
All waste disposal operations at this landfill occurred between 1972 and 1983 — entirely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The contamination now being monitored in groundwater and surface water is a direct consequence of those pre-1986 disposal activities. Remediation costs already incurred for cleanup construction, along with the ongoing expense of performance monitoring, represent expenditures that historical CGL carriers who insured the landfill operators during the 1970s and early 1980s may be obligated to cover.
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.