The more that I think about it (and with some friendly input from the www) the more that it seems that the Judge’s decree doesn’t carry any water at all. He committed an abuse of discretion where there wasn’t any discretion to abuse. There was only a trial to be had, as so there still is a trial to be had.
APPEAL BRIEF:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-J4RjulY5xWrYlsgtkgrgcx-cJuIqJ-8/view?usp=drivesdk