Which of the following describes a legal action characterized by the removal of a previously issued judgment?

The correct choice pertains to a legal action that effectively nullifies a previous judgment. This process is known as dismissal, which occurs when a court terminates a case or a portion of it, thus removing any binding legal effect of the judgment.

In legal contexts, dismissal can happen for various reasons, including lack of jurisdiction, failure to state a claim, or even after the parties reach a settlement. It signifies that the court is no longer enforcing the previous ruling, making it as if the judgment never existed in the first place, hence the removal of the legal obligation that was previously imposed.

The other options refer to different legal concepts. An appeal involves seeking a higher court's review of a case or judgment to determine if errors were made in the application of the law but does not inherently remove the judgment. Reversal indicates that a higher court has overturned or annulled the previous judgment, which is a specific outcome of an appeal, rather than the action of removing it. Amendment refers to the modification of existing orders or pleadings, but it does not entail the complete removal of a judgment.