This property has a documented history as a automobile dealership predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as an automobile dealership — Performance Dodge — with full service infrastructure including a 575-gallon waste oil underground storage tank, hydraulic lifts, shop heaters burning waste oil and solvents, a car wash, and oil/water catch basins. By October 1987, the waste oil UST had already been decommissioned and replaced by above-ground tanks; the tank was excavated in August 1988. Petroleum-diesel and petroleum-gasoline hydrocarbons were detected in groundwater at the site. The property was addressed through the Voluntary Cleanup Program and has reached No Further Action status. 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 dealership's service operations — waste oil handling, solvent use, fuel storage — were well established before 1986, when Commercial General Liability policies routinely covered pollution-related claims without effective exclusion. Petroleum contamination in groundwater here traces to those long-running automotive service operations and their associated underground storage infrastructure. Historical CGL carriers who insured this dealership during its pre-1986 operational period may bear obligations to cover the remediation costs incurred to bring the site to No Further Action.
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.