DURHAM, N.C. -- A federal bankruptcy judge refused Thursday to allow a wrongful death lawsuit against Michael Peterson to proceed while the state Court of Appeals considers whether to throw out his first-degree murder conviction. Judge William L. Stocks noted that the appeals court heard arguments in Peterson's case in April, and told lawyers in the civil proceeding that he wanted to give the other court a chance to act on the criminal case first. Peterson was sentenced to life in prison in 2003 for the slaying of his wife, Kathleen. He claimed she died from injuries suffered in a fall down a staircase at their home in December 2001, but prosecutors said Peterson beat her to death. Kathleen Peterson's daughter, Caitlin Atwater, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Peterson that was scheduled for trial last month.