Sarah Ruane

Partner

Phone Number: 816.701.1123

4740 Grand Avenue Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64112

In Brief

Successfully argued before the Missouri Supreme Court in Wanda Mayes, et al., v. Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City, et al. Case No. SC93012

Has extensive trial experience and has tried a number of cases to verdict in Missouri and Kansas

Sarah Ruane is a partner and Chair of the Litigation Management Committee at the Kansas City-based Wagstaff & Cartmell LLP.  Sarah has served as trial counsel, including lead counsel, in 10 jury trials in federal and state court, nearly all of which were cases involving drugs, medical devices, and health care services.  As Chair of her firm’s Litigation Management Committee, she assigns and manages teams of lawyers and staff for all of the firm’s national mass tort and class action cases to ensure optimal, efficient performance for the firm’s clients.

Sarah has gained broad experience in pharmaceutical and medical device cases under the supervision and leadership of Tom Cartmell, who has served as plaintiffs’ co-lead counsel and co-lead trial counsel in several large MDLs that resolved successfully.  Sarah worked extensively on trials and in discovery over the past decade in the national Pelvic Mesh Repair System Products Liability Litigation, which included In Re: C.R. Bard, Inc., MDL No. 2187; In Re: American Medical Systems, Inc., MDL No. 2325; In Re: Boston Scientific Corp., MDL No. 2326; and In Re: Ethicon, Inc., MDL No. 2327.  In these cases, Sarah assisted in general causation expert reports, briefed and argued Daubert motions, defended case-specific depositions and deposed case-specific physician, sales representative and expert witnesses.  Sarah also second-chaired the first (and only) pelvic mesh jury trial against the defendant Coloplast, which resulted in a $2.5 million verdict for the plaintiff.

In the National Opioid MDL No. 2084, Sarah helped build the liability case against the Teva defendants.  She performed all aspects of discovery in the MDL, from ESI negotiation and document review to taking depositions of corporate witnesses.  She also represented Buchanan County, Missouri, which had one of the highest rates of opioid prescriptions in the country.

Sarah’s entire career has been with Wagstaff & Cartmell, which has grown during her tenure to 34 attorneys and 52 other employees.  The firm handles complex litigation nationwide in the areas of product liability, consumer fraud, class actions, antitrust, corporate malfeasance, professional liability, and representation of public entities.

Sarah is a current member of the District of Kansas Bench-Bar Committee.  In this role, she works with six sitting judges from the District of Kansas to study and consider the Rules of the Court and serves as a liaison among the court, its bar and the public.  Sarah has previously served on the Board of Directors for the Lawyers Association of Kansas City – Young Lawyers Section and Lawyers Encouraging Academic Performance.  Sarah received her undergraduate degree in Spanish and Sociology from Wake Forest University in 2003.  She graduated from The University of Kansas School of Law in 2006.  She speaks frequently at seminars which focus on trial advocacy.

Notable Litigation

  • $2.5M Jury Verdict in Florida Pelvic Mesh Trial

    Brandon Henry, Sarah Ruane, Vanessa Gross, and Nate Jones obtained a $2.5 million verdict against Coloplast, Corp. following a jury trial in the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida.  The jury found that Coloplast’s Novasilk pelvic mesh device, which was used to treat pelvic organ prolapse, was defectively designed, that Coloplast failed to warn of the risks of the Novasilk mes

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  • In Re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation, MDL 2804 (N.D. Ohio)

    The Wagstaff & Cartmell team is involved in this prescription opiate litigation MDL. Ty Hudson worked with a team of lawyers to help prosecute the case against prescription drug distributors in the initial MDL bellwether cases, which resulted in settlements totaling more than $260 million. The next phase of the litigation is on-going. Eric D. Barton is representing dozens of county and c

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  • Commonwealth of Kentucky v. Johnson & Johnson, et al.

    Wagstaff & Cartmell currently represents the Commonwealth of Kentucky in consumer protection litigation against Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon involving transvaginal mesh sales within the state.

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  • Pelvic Mesh Repair System Products Liability Litigation (S.D.W.V.)

    In 2012, thousands of lawsuits filed nationwide against several manufacturers of transvaginal mesh products. These cases were consolidated by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) into several MDLs before the Honorable Joseph R. Goodwin in the Southern District of West Virginia. Among the dozens of lawyers who applied for leadership positions, Judge Goodwin selected Tom Cartmell as

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  • State of Oregon v. Johnson & Johnson, et al.

    Wagstaff & Cartmell currently represents the State of Oregon in consumer protection litigation against Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon involving transvaginal mesh sales within the state.

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Practice Areas

Other Practice Areas

  • Injury & Wrongful Death
  • Medical Malpractice
  • Nursing Home Injuries/Abuse
  • Product Liability
  • Business Disputes
  • Antitrust Litigation
  • Securities & Investments Litigation
  • Intellectual Property Litigation

Education

  • J.D., University of Kansas School of Law, 2006 
  • B.A., Wake Forest University, 2003

 

Honors + Awards

KCBJ-Women’s History Month-People on the Move in Kansas City 2024

Rising Stars, Thomson Reuters – 2011 -2014

20 in Their Twenties, Ingram’s Magazine