I've never personally seen it happen (I also don't own a Rick), but I've heard of many that complain of "bridge lift", which appears to be a fault in the design. The tailpiece is not connected to the body and so the string tension and slight upward angle pull the bridge, which bends at its weakest point.
Actually, having never owned a Gibson or epi, how does the 3 point bridge adjustment compare with the Ric?
I had no idea bridge lift was so bad. I am really thinking the Ovation Magnum is a humongous Ric rip off now. I always wondered why it had such a huge bolt holding the bridge from the back, and the bridge looks a lot like a ric bridge.
Ric knows about this problem and has been "designing" a replacement for years. I don't know what is holding them back. There are aftermarket replacements which solve the issue but they don't look quite like a Ric bridge does.