A federal appeals court has affirmed a trial judge's order that a Pennsylvania doctor and her husband must pay a total of $1.78 million in sanctions in a discrimination lawsuit that the court found was filed in bad faith.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed an order lodged against the doctor, Afoluso Adesanya, and her husband, Adenakan Adesanya, by U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton in their suit against Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp.

The unpublished ruling was issued by Third Circuit Judges Joseph Greenaway Jr., Stephanos Bibas and Jane Roth.