DOUGLAS L. RAYES, District Judge.
Before the Court are Defendants' motions to strike (Docs. 28, 34, 35, 43) and Plaintiff's motion to amend complaint (Docs. 61, 62, 65, 66, 68, 74-76). For the following reasons, the Court will strike Plaintiff's amended complaint and deny Plaintiff's motion to amend complaint.
Plaintiff commenced this action pro se
A case originally brought in state court but removed to federal court "must proceed as if it had been brought in federal court originally." Cwiak v. City of Phoenix, No. CV-09-1858-PHX-MHM, 2010 WL 1742531, at *2 (D. Ariz. Apr. 29, 2010). A plaintiff may amend his complaint only once as a matter of course either within 21 days of service or within 21 days after service of a motion to dismiss. Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a). Rule 15(b) similarly provides that, after this period, a party may amend its pleading only with the opposing parties' consent or the court's permission. Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(b). When a plaintiff moves to amend, the court looks to five factors when considering the propriety of granting the motion: "(1) bad faith, (2) undue delay, (3) prejudice to the opposing party, (4) futility of amendment; and (5) whether plaintiff has previously amended his complaint." Allen v. City of Beverly Hills, 911 F.2d 367, 373 (9th Cir. 1990) (citing Ascon Props., Inc. v. Mobil Oil Co., 866 F.2d 1149, 1160 (9th Cir. 1989)).
Turning first to Defendants' motions to strike (Docs. 28, 25), Plaintiff filed multiple amendments to his complaint prior to removal and, therefore, was required to obtain Defendants' consent or the Court's permission prior to filing his latest amendment. Plaintiff, however, neither conferred with Defendants
Turning next to Plaintiff's motion for leave to amend, after considering the five factors relevant to determining whether an amended pleading should be permitted—(1) bad faith, (2) undue delay, (3) prejudice to the opposing party, (4) futility of amendment, and (5) whether the plaintiff has previously amended his complaint—the Court denies Plaintiff's motion. Plaintiff already filed at least three amendments prior to removal. Further, he repeatedly has sought to amend since removal, even though discovery has not begun. (Docs. 19, 61.) The unearthing of new, relevant information is not motivating Plaintiff to amend; rather, the amendments appear to be spurred by Defendants' filings. See Jackson v. Bank of Haw., 902 F.2d 1385, 1388 (9th Cir. 1990) ("Relevant to evaluating the delay issue is whether the moving party knew or should have known the facts and theories raised by the amendment in the original pleading."). Allowing Plaintiff to continue to amend would convert Plaintiff's complaint into a moving target, unduly prejudicing Defendants, who already have expended significant time and resources in order to understand and respond to Plaintiff's evolving allegations. See Safety Dynamics Inc. v. Gen. Star Indem. Co., No. CV-09-00695-TUC-CKJ (DTF), 2014 WL 11281291, at *4 (D. Ariz. Mar. 5, 2014) (citing Eminence Capital, LLC v. Aspeon, Inc., 316 F.3d 1048, 1052 (9th Cir. 2003)) ("Prejudice to the opposing party is the most important of [the] factors" in determining whether to permit or deny leave to amend). Accordingly,