The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Wednesday ruled that the U.S. Small Business Administration is allowed to bar bankruptcy debtors from receiving Paycheck Protection Program funds through the initiative established in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The three-judge panel, including Circuit Judges Joseph Bianco, Amalya Kearse and Raymond Lohier Jr., reversed an earlier decision from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Vermont, which had ruled in favor of plaintiffs Springfield Medical Care Systems and Springfield Hospital.