Way back in 2000, I received a letter at my mothers house, informing me that a judgement had been found against me over a banking issue. I told the lawyer that I never received a summons to appear in court. They said they delivered the summons to my address and handed it to a woman. My mother did not remember accepting a summons.
My mothers home was my old address, but I was living somewhere else for close to 10 years somewhere else. At the time, I was unemployed. I still have my unemployment slips from the time with my other address printed on it.
I read something about 'place of abode. My bank account had my moms address still on it, which was my last address. I never bothered to change the address to my new address.
I also read that a summons can be served at your last known address, and depending on the state, may be left with anyone living there. I am not sure if I understood it all correctly.
I read the report of the summons. It described the deliverer as handing the summons to a woman in her 50's, at the time. The report did not say who the person was. But, the report does say the person informed the deliverer that I was not living at the known address.
Do I still have a chance to challenge the judgement, or am I dead in the water?

Nine years ago? You are dead in the water. It appears that service was properly made at one of the addresses of record. Even in the unlikely event that you could get the judgement vacated on grounds of improper serivce, that's only a delaying tactic. They will properly serve you before you leave the courtroom. So, unless you have a defence against the suit, the judgement will be reinstated.

You are dead in the water - the time to try to set this aside ended a very long time ago. It IS legal service if the "responsible adult party" accepted service, whether you lived there or not.