Can the trial court's action be described as a dismissal?

Nor, by any stretch, may the trial court's action properly be described as a dismissal. Without belaboring the obvious, it should suffice to say that, in the context of pleadings and motions, a dismissal is the withdrawal of an application for judicial relief by the party seeking such relief, or the removal of the application by a court. A leading law dictionary defines it as "an order or judgment finally disposing of an action, suit, motion, etc., without trial of the issues involved." (Black's Law Dictionary (5th ed., 1979), p. 421; see [60 Cal.App.4th 604] also Code of Civil Procedure sections 581 [kinds of dismissal], 583.110 et seq. [dismissal for delay in prosecution]; McColgan v. Jones, Hubbard, etc., Inc. (1938) 11 Cal.2d 243, 78 P.2d 1010 [dismissal compared to nonsuit].)