This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1927. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a gasoline service station from April 1927, when General Petroleum Corporation of California — a predecessor of ExxonMobil — leased the site and ran fuel operations through December 1938; the site is also documented as having historically operated as a Chevron gas station. Bare steel underground storage tanks exhibiting severe corrosion, pitting, and numerous holes were removed in May 2002, and groundwater monitoring at wells MW-3, MW-14, and MW-17 confirmed contamination exceeding MTCA Method A cleanup levels for gasoline, ethylbenzene, xylenes, lube oil, and ethylene dibromide. The site completed cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program and has received a No Further Action determination. 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.
Gasoline service station operations at this property began in 1927 — nearly six decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The petroleum contamination confirmed in groundwater here traces directly to underground storage tanks that served those pre-1986 fueling operations, and the documented remediation — tank closure investigations, UST removals, and long-term groundwater monitoring — was incurred to address releases originating from decades of fuel storage. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the site's active fueling years may still be obligated to recover those cleanup costs.
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.
Recovering Costs from an Older Cleanup
If this site reached No Further Action years ago, the original cleanup expenditures may be difficult to reconstruct. Restorical's forensic accounting team specializes in re-establishing and documenting past cleanup costs — even decades later — to build the strongest possible basis for an insurance recovery claim.
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.