A federal appeals court on Monday ordered the dismissal of a whistleblower lawsuit alleging fraud against the government, ruling that a judge had improperly refused to toss the case at the U.S. Justice Department’s request.

In a 32-page opinion, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit found that the Justice Department was “not close” to overstepping its authority when it asked for the dismissal of a whistleblower lawsuit claiming that the drugmaker UCB Inc. had violated the False Claims Act. The law allows whistleblowers to bring lawsuits in the name of the government and receive a portion of any money recovered, while allowing the Justice Department to intervene and take charge of the cases.