This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1967. 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 was developed as a commercial mall by 1967 and housed multiple tenants with contamination-generating operations throughout the late 1960s and 1970s, including a dry-cleaning facility using tetrachloroethylene, a gasoline station with at least two 10,000-gallon underground storage tanks, and an automotive service center with a used oil tank — with at least seven USTs documented on the property. Phase II investigation confirmed extensive groundwater contamination, with benzene detected at 2,200 µg/L — more than 44 times the Wisconsin DNR enforcement standard — along with BTEX compounds, MTBE, trimethylbenzenes, and lead exceeding NR 140 standards at multiple monitoring wells. Contamination has migrated into public rights-of-way, and the site is undergoing active remediation under a Wisconsin DNR-approved remedial action plan. 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.
Beginning in the late 1960s and continuing through the 1970s, fueling, dry-cleaning, and automotive servicing operations at this property released chlorinated solvents, petroleum hydrocarbons, and metals into soil and groundwater — all well before 1986. The ongoing groundwater remediation under a Wisconsin DNR-approved remedial action plan, continued site investigation, and long-term compliance monitoring required by the Environmental Remediation Program represent substantial future costs that historical pre-1986 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.