This property has a documented history as an industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1900. 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 housed aluminum and zinc die casting manufacturing since the early 1900s, with the original plant building constructed in the 1920s and operations involving cutting oils, greases, degreasers, solvents, and petroleum storage tanks continuing for decades before 1986. A 2015 Phase II investigation found groundwater contamination across all seven temporary monitoring wells, with benzene at sixty-nine times the NR 140 enforcement standard and heavy metals — including aluminum, lead, arsenic, and chromium — at concentrations ranging from tens to thousands of times above enforcement standards. Chrysene was detected above the NR 140 preventive action limit in seven of eight wells, and the investigation concluded there is a strong possibility that groundwater contamination is migrating eastward beyond the property boundary. 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.
Aluminum and zinc die casting operations at this property date to the early 1900s, with the original plant constructed in the 1920s and decades of work involving cutting oils, solvents, degreasers, and petroleum storage continuing well before 1986. The groundwater investigation still underway, delineation of the contamination plume potentially migrating beyond the property boundary, and the remediation and long-term monitoring required under Wisconsin DNR LUST program oversight represent future costs that the historical pre-1986 carriers for 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.