Richard B. Hopkins, II

Richard focuses his practice on complex litigation and regulatory matters, with particular emphasis on health care payor/provider disputes, life insurance fraud actions, business practices, claims handling practices, reinsurance, trade secrets, insolvency, and inter-company disputes. He regularly represents business entities, including insurers, health plans, underwriters and holding companies in a variety of contexts, such as federal and state class actions, arbitrations, administrative hearings, regulatory investigations and market conduct examinations. He also counsels and defends insurers and managed health care plans in actions involving ERISA benefit claims and breach of fiduciary duties.

He is a member of Maynard Nexsen’s Insurance and Financial Services Litigation Practice and ERISA Practice.

Prior to Maynard Nexsen, Richard worked with a national law firm in Los Angeles and was a legal associate for Activision, a producer and distributor of video games, where his practice consisted primarily of transactional work, as well as intellectual property registration and enforcement. Prior to his legal career, Richard was a senior analyst at DecisionQuest, Inc., a trial consulting firm, where he provided jury consulting services on a wide range of litigation matters.

Community & Professional

• Los Angeles County Bar Association
• The State Bar of California

• Trial counsel in Los Angeles Superior Court fraud case on behalf of New York Life Insurance Company involving over $3 million in life insurance fraudulently obtained by Nomadic insurance applicants and subsequent questionable death of insured. Complete victory for client and award of costs.
• Represented health plans in California Superior Court in proposed class action involving prescription drug benefits. Action dismissed prior to certification on summary judgment.
• Represented health plans in California arbitration on multiple occasions on issues surrounding health plans duty to pay medical providers "reasonable and customary" charges for emergency room treatment in a non-contractual environment.
• Represented health plans in multiple California arbitrations involving claims by hospitals for reimbursement for “investigational” medical treatment.
• Represented health plan in several payor-provider arbitrations where large hospital chains alleged that in excess of $10 million was owed under Preferred Provider Agreement. These cases were resolved for a fraction of the demand.
• Represented health plan in California arbitration where $3 million was claimed owed to hospital for stay in excess of two years. Claim resolved with no additional payment by health plan.
• Represented health plans in California arbitration where hospitals sought reimbursement for over $1 million in “off-label” prescription drug use. Claim resolved for a small fraction of demand.
• Represented health plan in several superior court actions and successfully moved to compel private arbitration.
• Class action litigation concerning insurer's premium charges, including vanishing premium, gap premium, reinstatement charge, cost of insurance charge, and experience rating claims.
• Class action, individual, and FINRA litigation alleging lack of suitability and deceptive sales practices, including failures to disclose, misrepresentations and other regulatory violations in the sale of life insurance, annuity, and long term care products.
• Successfully resolved multiple actions on behalf of insurers in cases involving fraud and misrepresentations by applicants/insureds.
• Litigation in court and before FINRA arising from outside business activities and selling away by agents and registered representatives, including unauthorized sales of annuities, securities, and pension plans.
• Insurance regulatory investigations and litigation with the California Department of Insurance and California Attorney General's Office concerning alleged claims handling, underwriting and licensing violations.
• Class action and FINRA litigation brought by agents and registered representatives over commissions, production requirements, and other aspects of their relationships with their principals.
• Extensive litigation of issues involving e-discovery in state and federal court.
• Represented California-based underwriter and provider of expatriate insurance benefits in litigation involving alleged theft of business by Chinese-based subsidiary.
• Represented automobile insurers in purported class action involving Portable Persistency and Good Driver discounts.
• Represented homeowners' insurers in purported class action alleging insurer provided "excessive" amounts of replacement cost insurance.
• Represented automobile insurers in purported class action involving alleged violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
• Represented automobile dealership software company in disputes against competitor and national credit reporting agency.
• Represented holding company in action brought by association purporting to alter the terms of the contract between the association's member and holding company.
• Representing runoff manager of Lloyd's of London Syndicate in litigation and arbitration involving reinsurance of life settlement and viatical investments.
• Represented health plans on multiple occasions on issues surrounding health plans duty to pay medical providers "reasonable and customary" charges for emergency room treatment in a non-contractual environment.
• Represented insurers in multiple bankruptcy adversary proceedings involving claims brought by unsecured creditors.
• Represented life insurer in class actions alleging failure to pay death benefits in connection with the Armenian Genocide and Pontic Greek Genocide in the Turkish Ottoman Empire.
• Represented life insurer in private attorney general proceeding challenging its sales, rating and underwriting practices in its long term care insurance business.
• Represented life insurer in a class action brought by its senior agents/registered representatives challenging changes in production requirements and compensation.
• Represented several life insurers in private attorney general proceedings challenging their underwriting restrictions on, and rates charged to, individuals who travel to countries on the U.S. State Department's list of unsafe countries.
• Represented life insurer in class action alleging misleading marketing of and failure to pay benefits under spousal benefit riders.
• Represented several life insurers in separate class actions alleging unlawful "gap premium" charges.