This property has a documented history as an industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1920. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could help fund the multi-phase investigation and remediation work ahead under Wisconsin DNR oversight.
This property has hosted industrial operations since as early as 1920, with a factory built on-site in 1947 for farm wagon and military sleigh manufacturing, followed by decades of machining, assembly, heat treating, and spray painting from the 1950s through the 1990s that relied extensively on cutting oils, chlorinated solvents, paints, and thinners. A Phase II Environmental Site Assessment confirmed trichloroethylene (TCE) in groundwater at 2,000 times the Wisconsin NR 140 enforcement standard and TCE and tetrachloroethylene (PCE) in soil at concentrations exceeding 500,000 micrograms per kilogram, with vapor intrusion confirmed and a vapor mitigation system installed in 2018. The site is an active Wisconsin DNR Environmental Remediation Program case, with a Remedial Action Design Report approved in 2022, ongoing groundwater monitoring since 2012, and a Remedial Action Options Report received in 2025. That history could support an insurance coverage claim against the carriers who issued policies more than 40 years ago — coverage that could help fund the cleanup ahead.
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 Wisconsin — and those policies may provide coverage that remains enforceable today. 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.
Industrial manufacturing operations at this property — including machining with chlorinated solvents and heat treating — began decades before 1986 and continued through the period when contamination originated. The extensive groundwater remediation, vapor intrusion mitigation, and ongoing monitoring and compliance work ahead under Wisconsin DNR oversight represent future costs that those historical carriers may be obligated to fund.
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
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.