All my H had to do to "drop" the D action was call his L and tell him to stop the proceedings. H's L called the court house (where the papers were filed) and the D was stopped, but it still remained a matter of record.
I don't know about not being able to talk about the D after papers are served. All my L said was that both parties must not harass each other.
Your H's L could have advised him to mention mediation. I never went through mediation so I'm not familiar with it.
