TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge has rejected a lawsuit filed by the Kansas state treasurer that argued the state had a right to claim ownership to savings bonds it deemed abandoned, in many cases, because the original bond holder had died without a will or legal heir.

The Wichita Eagle reports the ruling was handed down Monday. State treasurer Ron Estes says the state is considering appealing the ruling.

The U.S. Treasury Department adopted rules in 2015 that require states to have bonds in their possession and sufficient evidence of their abandonment in order to claim them as property. Estes sued the department in March in an attempt to block the new rules and recover the funds. The state treasurers of South Dakota, Louisiana, Mississippi and Kentucky joined Estes as plaintiffs in the case.