(Reuters) - Ohio's highest court on Tuesday ruled that pharmacy chain operators CVS, Walmart ( WMT ) and Walgreens could not be sued under state law for creating a public nuisance in local communities by fueling an opioid epidemic.

The ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court put into jeopardy a $650.9 million judgment that the state's Lake and Trumbull counties won following the first trial the three pharmacy operators had faced in nationwide litigation over the deadly U.S. opioid addiction epidemic.

(This story has been corrected to add a dropped word in the headline)

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston)