This property has a documented history as a automobile dealership going back to 1905. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as an automobile dealership from 1905 through 2002, encompassing a showroom, auto and truck service bays, a body shop, a paint shop, car wash bays, and on-site parking. A gasoline station also operated on the property from the 1930s through the 1950s, and underground storage tanks for gasoline, waste oil, and fuel oil were installed as early as 1948. Remedial actions under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included closure of a 500-gallon waste oil UST to address petroleum hydrocarbon releases into the soil, and 12 permanent groundwater monitoring wells were installed for ongoing site monitoring. The Department of Ecology issued a No Further Action determination for the petroleum release. That history could support an insurance cost recovery claim against carriers who issued insurance policies 40+ years ago.
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 Washington. 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.
Petroleum contamination at this site traces directly to underground storage tanks and fueling operations that were in place decades before 1986 — the dealership dates to 1905, with UST installations documented as early as 1948. Occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies issued to the operators during that long pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. The remediation expenditures incurred here — UST closure, soil contamination response, and the installation and maintenance of a 12-well groundwater monitoring network — are costs that historical carriers who covered those operations may still be obligated to reimburse.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful cost recovery claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage for costs already incurred. Restorical's forensic accounting team works to re-establish and document past cleanup expenditures, ensuring the strongest possible basis for recovery.
Recovering Costs from an Older Cleanup
If this site reached No Further Action years ago, the original cleanup expenditures may be difficult to reconstruct. Restorical's forensic accounting team specializes in re-establishing and documenting past cleanup costs — even decades later — to build the strongest possible basis for an insurance recovery claim.
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 & Forensic Accounting
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.
