A federal judge's report and recommendation in a key case over the opioid crisis could, if approved, bode well for cities and counties suing prescription painkiller manufacturers and distributors.

U.S. Magistrate Judge David Ruiz of the Northern District of Ohio on Oct. 5 allowed most of the claims to go forward in a case brought by Summit County and the city of Akron against manufacturers and distributors of opioids, plus several pharmacies. He found that, despite the insistence of defendants that the complaint lacked details, the case was far from a “fishing expedition.”