This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1950. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property has operated as a fuel service station since 1950, when Richfield Oil Corporation — which had leased the site since 1941 — developed it for fuel sales and vehicle service. City directories from 1951 list the facility as the Jones Richfield Service Gas station, and Sanborn maps from 1950 and 1969 depict a gas, oil, auto, and truck repair operation. Underground storage tanks installed in 1985 were removed in 2010, and petroleum contamination — MTBE, benzene, diesel-range hydrocarbons, and gasoline-range hydrocarbons — has been confirmed in groundwater. The site remains an active fuel service station, with cleanup underway through Washington's 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.
Fuel dispensing operations at this property date to 1950, placing more than three decades of continuous service-station use squarely within the era of occurrence-based CGL policies that carried no effective pollution exclusion. The groundwater contamination documented here — benzene, MTBE, and petroleum hydrocarbons — is tied to storage and dispensing infrastructure that served the site throughout that pre-1986 window. Historical carriers who underwrote the operators during those decades may be obligated both to recover the remediation costs already incurred and to fund the ongoing cleanup.
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.