Court hands defeat on polygamy to family from 'Sister Wives'

SALT LAKE CITY -- A federal appeals court has dismissed a decision that decriminalized polygamy in Utah, marking a defeat for the family from the TV show "Sister Wives."

The ruling handed down Monday by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver found the family can't sue because prosecutors never filed charges against them and authorities later said they wouldn't prosecute consenting adult polygamists.

The decision reverses a landmark 2013 ruling from a federal judge in Utah that removed the threat of arrest for polygamous families.

Kody Brown and his four wives sued over Utah's longstanding ban on plural marriages after local prosecutors said publicly that they were considering charges following the premiere of the show.

The Browns' lawyer and the state attorney general didn't have immediate comment.