This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1930. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
The Block 37 property in Seattle has hosted industrial and commercial operations since the late 1800s, beginning with the Brace Lumber Mill and followed by two gasoline service stations — a Union 76 station operating from approximately 1930 to the mid-1960s and a Westlake 76 station operating from 1965 to 2008. In 1980, an 80,000-gallon gasoline release was discovered from a leaking product line at the Westlake 76 station, triggering immediate remedial action and environmental investigations that have continued for over four decades. Underground storage tanks from both stations — including five tanks installed circa 1930 and abandoned between 1959 and 1972 — were removed by January 1990, and groundwater contamination including lead, BTEX, naphthalene, MTBE, and vinyl chloride continues to exceed MTCA cleanup levels. Cleanup is ongoing under the Voluntary Cleanup Program and an Agreed Order. 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.
Petroleum operations at this property began around 1930 — more than five decades before the 1986 shift away from occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies. The 80,000-gallon gasoline release discovered in 1980 and the legacy contamination from tanks installed as early as the 1930s represent precisely the kind of long-tail environmental exposure that pre-1986 CGL policies were written to cover, with no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. With cleanup underway and groundwater still exceeding regulatory standards for lead, benzene, vinyl chloride, and other petroleum constituents, both past remediation expenditures and future cleanup costs could be recoverable from historical carriers whose policies were in force during the decades of active fueling operations.
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.