James Ruley

James is a member of WT’s complex commercial litigation and consumer class action defense team. He has experience defending companies against putative class actions and individual lawsuits involving a variety of state and federal statutes, including the TCPA, FDCPA, state unfair competition statutes, state debt collection statutes, and other state consumer statutes. He routinely assists companies with ensuring their business practices are compliant with state and federal laws, including companies in the payment processing, telecommunications, hospitality, home improvement, and consumer goods verticals industries. In addition, he also has successfully litigated a wide variety of business matters including breach of contract, fraudulent misrepresentation, and unjust enrichment litigation in both federal and state courts.

Prior to entering private practice, James clerked for the Honorable Keith Blackwell of the Supreme Court of Georgia, where he assisted Justice Blackwell on a variety of civil and criminal cases. He also previously served as a staff attorney for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, where he worked on appeals from civil rights, employment, immigration, and criminal matters.

James graduated cum laude from Indiana University Maurer School of Law, where he received the highest grade in his civil procedure, contracts, and constitutional law courses. He also served as an Articles Editor for the Indiana Law Journal and Editor-in-Chief of the Indiana Journal of Constitutional Design, and he published Notes in each journal. James also externed with the Honorable David Hamilton of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and served as a graduate research assistant to two professors. Prior to law school, James graduated summa cum laude from Bob Jones University with a degree in history.

Indiana University Maurer School of Law

  • J.D., cum laude
  • Indiana Law Journal, Articles Editor
  • Indiana Journal of Constitutional Design, Editor-in-Chief

Bob Jones University

  • B.A. History, summa cum laude 
  • Supreme Court of Georgia (Hon. Keith Blackwell)
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (Staff Attorney)
  • Maryland
  • Georgia
  • District Court of Maryland
  • District Court for the Northern & Middle Districts of Georgia
  • District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
  • Savada v. RRH Energy Servs., LLC, __ F. Supp. 3d. __, 2025 WL 3018773 (D. Md. Oct. 29, 2025) (dismissal with prejudice under first-to-file rule).
  • Hulce v. Zipongo Inc., 132 F.4th 493 (7th Cir. 2025) (affirmance of summary-judgment ruling concluding that communications about free healthcare aren’t “telephone solicitations” under the TCPA).
  • LaFleur v. Yardi Sys., Inc., 765 F. Supp. 3d 640 (N.D. Ohio 2025) (dismissal with prejudice of right-of-publicity claims).
  • Payne v. Sieva Networks, Inc., 347 F.R.D. 224 (N.D. Cal. 2024) (first-in-the-nation decision affirmatively denying class certification before discovery opened).
  • Reid v. RealPage, et al., No. 24-cv-00368 (D. Minn. 2024) (dismissal with prejudice of debt-collection and fraud claims).
  • Arcangel v. Yardi Systems, No. 2023-CH-09957 (Cir. Ct. Cook County, Ill.) (dismissal with prejudice of Illinois Consumer Fraud Act claims).
  • Robledo v. Yardi Systems, 741 F. Supp. 3d 617 (W.D. Tex. 2024) (granting summary judgment in case involving allegedly illegal fees on property-management software).
  • Boone’s Pharmacy, Inc. v. EzriRx, LLC, 684 F. Supp. 3d 1207 (S.D. Ala. 2023) (dismissal with prejudice of TCPA class action on vicarious-liability grounds).