A Hartford District Superior Court judge has dismissed lawsuits by Connecticut cities against various opioid makers and distributors, concluding that allowing them to survive would lead to “junk justice” and “causation by conjecture.”

Tuesday’s colorfully worded ruling, by Judge Thomas Moukawsher, applies to four cases that were consolidated but is anticipated to wipe out lawsuits brought by 37 cities in Connecticut. It is among a handful of court decisions in cases across the country over the opioid epidemic, which has led to skyrocketing rates of addiction and death. In the Connecticut cases, the judge found that the cities, which included Danbury, Bridgeport and New Haven, had failed to draw a direct connection between their rising costs and the actions of the 25 defendants, which are manufacturers and distributors of the prescription painkillers.