This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1925. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could help fund the ongoing cleanup and groundwater monitoring obligations that Wisconsin DNR continues to oversee.
This property has operated as a gasoline service station since at least 1925, when Sanborn fire insurance maps first documented three underground gasoline tanks near the southeast property boundary, with city directory records confirming continuous service station operations from 1941 through the 1980s. Six underground storage tanks were closed and removed in September 1989, and a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment completed in August 2023 confirmed petroleum contamination in groundwater at multiple monitoring wells, with constituents exceeding Wisconsin NR 140 enforcement standards and preventive action limits. The site remains an open case under Wisconsin DNR LUST program oversight with investigation and remediation work continuing. 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.
Gasoline service station operations at this property date to at least 1925 and continued through the 1980s, placing more than six decades of fueling activity and underground storage tank use squarely within the pre-1986 window. The ongoing groundwater investigation, remediation of petroleum contamination exceeding NR 140 standards, and long-term monitoring required under the Wisconsin DNR LUST program represent future costs that the historical CGL carriers for the businesses that operated here before 1986 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.