These are provided by way of example only. Other damage categories may also fall within the economic loss column. So, without a fire, earthquake or other catastrophic event causing actual physical damage, the Court has refused recovery.

However, the laws governing community managers and board's duties remain the same. The following are just some of the fiduciary duties you are required by law to meet:

1.	DUTY TO REPAIR AND MAINTAIN COMMON AREAS (Civil Code §1364)
	Associations are required to repair and maintain common areas. If an association investigates other claims and finds defects that have not manifested in any physical damage, the association is still required to fix the problems.
1.	DUTY TO INVESTIGATE POTENTIAL CONSTRUCTION DEFECTS (Corp. Code §7231(a))
	Association board members must exercise sound business judgment, including the duty to undertake "reasonable inquiries" into matters affecting the health, safety and financial well-being of the members under Corporations Code section 7231(a).
1.	DUTY TO MEET STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS/TIME LIMITS (C.C.P. §337.5)
	An action that is not initiated within the designated time limit of ten years from the date of substantial completion (337.1) or three years from the date of discovery of the defects (338) will be forever barred. This is the primary defense a builder has to claims for defects. Failure to meet these deadlines constitutes a breach of fiduciary duty and this decision has not changed these time limits.
1.	DUTY TO DISCLOSE (CIVIL CODE §1368 and §1368.4)
	Full disclosure of common area defects must still be made to association members, even though the association may not recover damages for certain defects. The rules of disclosure have not changed, including disclosure to prospective purchasers and notice to members prior to filing civil actions.

Even though the damages your association recovers may be less than before, common area construction defects do need to be addressed and failure to meet these duties above could expose management to liability.

A determination of what amounts to "actual physical damage" should be left up to experts. Investigations by experts and an analysis by construction defect counsel is required to determine what amounts to a defect. Now, more so than ever, referring to a construction defect specialist is important because there are significant legal theories that must be made and only a litigation specialist will understand these legal intricacies. Managers should defer to these experts when the possibility for defects arise.