The city of Pleasanton is asking that a federal lawsuit against the Police Department and one of its officers be dismissed.

In a lengthy rebuttal to a recent lawsuit filed by Brian Lancaster, the city names dozens of undocumented claims in the suit, which names the Police Department in general and Officer Tim Martens in particular.

Specifically, the request that the lawsuit be dismissed questions claims surrounding a Jan. 16 traffic stop by Martens.

"The stop resulted in a search of the Plaintiff's car, but the complaint does not tell us why," the dismissal motions states. "This search resulted in contraband being found, but the Complaint does not tell us what, or where. Martens is alleged to have arrested the Plaintiff following this search; but the complaint doesn't tell us what the Plaintiff was arrested for."

The rebuttal offers a half dozen reasons for the suit to be dismissed, and cites federal and state law, although much of its argument seems to be about gaps in the original suit.

The request for dismissal also cites as a precedent a federal ruling stemming from a lawsuit filed by one of the men held in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

The suit is set for a Dec. 18 hearing in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

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