Westlake Trio Wins Court Hearing in Bid to Overturn Eligibility Ruling

Although he failed to win a temporary restraining order on behalf of three Westlake High students seeking athletic eligibility, the attorney for Buzz Holcomb called Wednesday a success because Ventura County Superior Court Judge Edwin Osborne granted a hearing for a preliminary injunction for Oct. 7.

The fate of the athletic eligibility of Westlake freshmen Erik Holcomb, Brian Brison and Mukasa Crowe will be determined at that hearing. Holcomb said he would not appeal an unfavorable decision.

“This is the second best thing that could have happened to us, next to getting the temporary restraining order,” said Jim Armstrong, Holcomb’s attorney. “Instead of waiting two to three weeks, we got a hearing in nine days.”

Holcomb sought an injunction after failing to win appeals from the California Interscholastic Federation and its Southern Section, which have denied the three students athletic eligibility for one semester because Holcomb withdrew them from the eighth grade and sent them to a private tutor.

All three live in Westlake Village with Holcomb, who has assumed legal guardianship of Brison and Crowe.