And those appeals can be ruled upon and then the case can reach a conclusion. It's not like the lawyers can just take _any_ case with _any_ facts and keep the case from _ever_ reaching a conclusion.

The real question you should ask yourself is, if $44 billion is on the line, how long would you continue to pursue the case in the face of lawyers who are just trying to drag it out? Even if it went on for years (it's not assured Musk's lawyers could drag it out past a year), I can think of 44 billion reasons to continue with the case.