A plaintiff agrees to the dismissal of his ignition switch case against GM.

In a setback for litigation against General Motors over its defective ignition switch, the first federal civil trial to decide the automaker’s liability ended abruptly Friday after the plaintiff agreed to dismiss his claims.

The case became troubled after GM cast doubt on testimony given by the plaintiff, Robert Scheuer, an Oklahoma native who was injured when his 2003 Saturn Ion crashed into a tree in May 2014.

On Thursday, after evidence emerged showi ng that Scheuer might have provided misleadi ng testimony about his finances after the accident, Judge Jesse Furman of U.S. District Court for the Southern District in Manhattan suggested that the parties settle or otherwise resolve the matter.

The claims were dismissed with prejudice, meaning that Scheuer cannot refile them. Scheuer agreed not to take any money on his claim, court documents said.

The trial was the first of six so-called bellwether cases that the automotive company is facing.

Bellwethers are often used in product-liability litigation when many people have similar claims and allow lawyers for both sides to try out legal strategies or help them determine whether to settle and for how much.

The allegations in this first case, one of three that were chosen by the plaintiffs’ lawyers, made this case an “outlier,” the judge said Thursday, implying that it would not be as useful as a model.

Bob Hilliard, a lawyer for Scheuer, expressed disappointment that the trial had ended in such an “unexpected and unforeseen way.”

“Especially one such as this where the concerns regarding the underlying safety of certain GM’s vehicles are legitimate and real,” he said in an email.