This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
The Lamberson Property in Des Moines, King County, is a residential property whose underground heating oil tank was decommissioned in 1996 after it was found to be leaking — the tank was pumped, cleaned, and filled with foam at that time. Ecology received formal certification of the closure from a tank service contractor in January 2004. Site investigations conducted between 2003 and 2004 identified a basement sump pump that was actively discharging groundwater as part of contamination control. The site has since been cleared to No Further Action status. 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.
The residential heating oil tank at this property was in active service for an extended period before its 1996 decommissioning, placing its operational years well before 1986 — the threshold year after which occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies began including enforceable pollution exclusions. The leak underlying the contamination here was not a recent accident but a release tied to the tank's long operational history. The investigation, groundwater control, and remediation work documented at this property represent cleanup expenditures attributable to that pre-1986 release period, giving the property owner a plausible basis to seek recovery from historical carriers whose policies were in force during those years.
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.
