This property has a documented history as an industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1940. 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 been in continuous industrial use since the 1940s, beginning as a vending machine factory with painting, cleaning, sanding, and machine shop operations, followed by ice cream manufacturing from the 1950s onward. Underground storage tanks formerly on the property — including a 1,000-gallon fuel oil UST and a 550-gallon unleaded gasoline UST — are the source of petroleum contamination that has impacted groundwater above Wisconsin DNR NR 140 Enforcement Standards at multiple monitoring wells, with petroleum volatile organic compounds including benzene, naphthalene, and 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene confirmed at elevated concentrations. Arsenic also exceeds enforcement standards in groundwater, and contamination has migrated beyond the property boundary into the Helena Street right-of-way, where a monitoring well confirms off-site impact. 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 and manufacturing operations at this property — including painting, cleaning, sanding, and machine shop work beginning in the 1940s, followed by ice cream manufacturing from the 1950s onward — were well underway before 1986, and the underground storage tanks that are the source of the petroleum contamination were installed and operated during that same pre-1986 period. The ongoing groundwater investigation, continued monitoring well sampling, remediation of petroleum volatile organic compounds and arsenic exceeding Wisconsin DNR NR 140 Enforcement Standards, and cleanup of off-site contamination that has migrated into the Helena Street right-of-way represent future costs that the pre-1986 carriers insuring the businesses that operated here 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.