Prenda Law sued thousands of people over allegations of illegally distributing adult movies before its business was brought to a crashing halt by a series of judicial sanctions. The lawyers behind Prenda—Paul Duffy, John Steele, and Paul Hansmeier—steadfastly maintained that those sanctions were unwarranted, and they appealed.

On Thursday, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit became the first appeals court to weigh in on their arguments. It didn’t think much of them. The first sentence of the 24-page opinion suggested where things were going to go. “The first rule of holes, according to an old saying, is to stop digging,” wrote Chief Judge Diane Wood on behalf of the three-judge panel.

More: Appeals Court: Shell Game Over, Prenda Law Must Pay Sanctions in Full