Went back though all my auto repair receipts and found one from May 29, 2010 in which the left lower ball joint was replaced - with one from Checkers/O'Reilly auto parts (Moog). So I wonder now if it was a piece of crap ball joint or if it was due to some other act that would've caused it to fail. If it was truely the part that failed.
Are those parts covered under warranty at all?