This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank going back to 1914. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
The Davenport Hotel opened in 1914 and operated continuously as a hotel until 1985, with underground storage tanks housed in its basement and sub-basement throughout that 71-year span. A 1994 investigation identified petroleum contamination from those tanks, revealing diesel and oil-range petroleum hydrocarbons in groundwater within the sub-basement vault area. Groundwater monitoring conducted from 2000 through 2002 confirmed that cleanup levels were met, and the site has received a No Further Action determination under 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.
Petroleum contamination at this property originated from underground storage tanks that were in place and in use for decades before 1986 — a period when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation expenditures — site investigation, contamination assessment, groundwater monitoring, and cleanup to regulatory standards — were incurred to address releases tied directly to those pre-1986 hotel operations dating to 1914. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the Davenport Hotel's seven-decade operational window 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.