This property has a documented history as an industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1945. 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 housed electronics and metal component manufacturing from the late 1940s through 1996, with operations including plating, machining, foundry work, welding, and brazing that relied on chlorinated solvents such as trichloroethylene (TCE), 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCA), and methylene chloride. Contaminated fill material — foundry sand, metallic slag, and industrial sludge — was deposited across portions of the property in the 1950s, and a 200-gallon aboveground TCE storage tank was maintained on-site during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Groundwater sampling has confirmed elevated concentrations of chlorinated solvents and petroleum VOCs in very shallow groundwater (two to nine feet below grade), PFAS compounds were detected at actionable levels in 2022, and Wisconsin DNR has raised vapor intrusion concerns from subsurface VOC migration into buildings. Groundwater monitoring under the Environmental Remediation Program has been ongoing since 1996. 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.
Manufacturing operations at this property began in the late 1940s and continued for nearly four decades before 1986, with chlorinated solvent use and industrial waste disposal occurring throughout that period. The ongoing groundwater monitoring, vapor intrusion assessment, PFAS investigation, and remediation work ahead under Wisconsin DNR oversight represent future costs that 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.