An interesting question - how come the Decker case proceeds despite the death of a party (James Eisel)?

It is the law that if a party in a court case dies, he/she should be replaced with his/her legal representative (the Estate).

In the lawsuit Decker Advertisement, Inc. v. Delaware County, 3:23-cv-1531 (NDNY), there was a defendant James Eisel, Sr., 

#	Name	Position in Delaware County	Town (Supervisor Of)
1	Delaware County, New York	Municipal entity	—
2	Tina Molé	Chairperson, Board of Supervisors	Town of Bovina
3	Arthur Merrill	Member, Board of Supervisors	Town of Colchester
4	Mark Tuthill	Member, Board of Supervisors	Town of Delhi (retired)
5	Thomas Axtell	Member, Board of Supervisors	Town of Deposit (retired)
6	Jeffrey Taggart	Member, Board of Supervisors	Town of Franklin (retired)
7	Wayne E. Marshfield	Member, Board of Supervisors	Town of Hamden
8	Jerry Vernold	Member, Board of Supervisors	Town of Hancock
9	James E. Eisel	Member, Board of Supervisors	Town of Harpersfield (retired, DEAD)
10	George Haynes, Jr.	Member, Board of Supervisors	Town of Kortright
11	Betty L. Scott	Member, Board of Supervisors	Town of Masonville
12	James G. Ellis	Member, Board of Supervisors	Town of Meredith
13	Carl Patrick Davis	Member, Board of Supervisors	Town of Middletown
14	Allen R. Hinkley	Member, Board of Supervisors	Town of Roxbury
15	Eric T. Wilson	Member, Board of Supervisors	Town of Sidney
16	John S. Kosier	Member, Board of Supervisors	Town of Stamford
17	William Layton	Member, Board of Supervisors	Town of Tompkins
18	Joseph Cetta	Member, Board of Supervisors	Town of Walton
19	Amy Merklen	County Attorney	—

Eisel is the retired - and, reportedly, as of December 18, 2025, dead former Delaware County Supervisor (Town of Harpersfield).

I do not see any movement in the federal case attempting to replace him with his legal representative.

Instead, everybody is happily filing - and wasting taxpayer money - despite the mandatory stay imposed by the death.