Legal Question in Bankruptcy in Tennessee

You can defend the suit if you don't owe the money. You can ask the court to delay the hearing to buy time. In the end if you owe the money you'll end up getting a judgment entered against you and then part of the normal collection process is to garnish your wages. You might want to consider contacting the lawyer that is handling the lawsuit against you and work out an extended payment plan.

What you need to consider is what other debt do you owe. If you have a lot of other debt you may want to consider filing a bankruptcy case. (I don't consider the filing of a bankruptcy case a "first option" just an option that should be considered.) That decision includes consideration of a lot of factors including income, assets, risk of collection activity by this and other creditors. That analysis is beyond what can happen in this forum.

Hope this helps.