One of the most outspoken judges in the craziness that is the US patent system made a bold move tonight, throwing out a lawsuit in which Apple and Motorola were seeking injunctions against each other's mobile products.

Judge Richard Posner previously canceled a jury trial in Chicago in the case, and then castigated both Apple and Motorola while calling the entire US patent system "chaos." Posner, a US Court of Appeals judge who is sitting by designation for this case in US District Court in Illinois, issued a ruling late today (Scribd link) that shows he wasn't just joking.

Noting that dismissals without prejudice allow suits to be refiled, Posner made it clear that this one would be dismissed with prejudice. "It would be ridiculous to dismiss a suit for failure to prove damages and allow the plaintiff [Apple] to refile the suit so that he could have a second chance to prove damages. This case is therefore dismissed with prejudice," Posner wrote. Posner had previously ruled that proposed testimony from experts put forth by both sides would be inadmissible, making it difficult to support any claims for damages or injunctions.

The case would have involved two trials, one covering Apple's claim that Motorola infringed four of its patents and another covering Motorola's claim that Apple infringed one of its patents. A series of pretrial rulings eliminated nearly all of Motorola's patent claims while preserving some of Apple's, Reuters noted earlier this week.

Posner complained that Apple's attempt to get an injunction restricting the sale of Motorola phones would have "catastrophic effects" on the mobile device market and consumers. He further criticized Motorola for trying to use a standards-essential patent to get an injunction against Apple.

The Apple/Motorola saga isn't quite over. Both sides are fighting over patents in front of the US International Trade Commission and in German courts, too. It goes back to October 2010 when Motorola first sued Apple in front of the ITC, a move followed by Apple launching the suit dismissed today by Posner. Motorola is also being investigated by the European Union for using standards-essential patents to seek injunctions against products such as the iPhone, iPad, Windows, and the Xbox 360. Both Apple and Microsoft accuse Motorola of seeking license fees that are too high for patents pledged to industry standards groups, while neither Apple or Microsoft sued Motorola using standards-essential patents.

Apple declined comment when reached by Ars. Motorola released a statement to Ars stating: "We are pleased that Judge Posner formally dismissed the case against Motorola Mobility. Apple’s litigation campaign began with their attempt to assert 15 patents against us. As it relates to Apple’s violation of our patents, we will continue our efforts to defend our own innovation."

Posner's written decision does mention the possibility of the case being appealed—so even this particular case may go forward again.