This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1904. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property has been in continuous commercial development since at least 1904, hosting hotels, automotive repair shops, a wood preserving facility, and — from 1940 until sometime between 1950 and 1960 — a gasoline station on its southwest corner. Multiple underground storage tanks remained on-site for decades after fueling operations ceased and were not removed until 2001; the Sinclair Building, which housed additional commercial tenants, was demolished in 2008. A Remedial Investigation completed in January 2023 confirmed arsenic, petroleum-diesel, and petroleum-gasoline in groundwater at concentrations exceeding MTCA cleanup levels, with a groundwater flow path toward Sinclair Inlet. Cleanup is underway through the Voluntary 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.
Commercial and fueling operations at this property date to 1904 and 1940 respectively — well within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were issued without effective pollution exclusions. The petroleum and arsenic contamination now confirmed in groundwater originated from decades of tank storage, automotive repair, and industrial use that predated 1986 by a wide margin. With remediation costs accumulating under the Voluntary Cleanup Program and a confirmed migration pathway toward Sinclair Inlet, historical carriers who wrote CGL policies during the property's pre-1986 operating window may be obligated both to recover past cleanup expenditures and to fund the work still ahead.
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.