Stealing electricity

[Richard Montoya]

Long story short...

My elderly mother-in-law lives in Dallas (Oak Cliff... Near Bishop Art District). She's been renting a small house for a couple of years. On the front lawn - same property - there is a small commercial building (10' x10'). Throughout the years, several businesses have opened and closed. 

Here's my issue...

I have ALWAYS been suspicious of this so-called 'business space'. For years I have questioned my mother-in-law about the building. She says she has no clue what goes on in there. She was/is under the impression that the property is being sub-leased by her current property manager. 

While conducting a visual inspection of the building, I noticed that the building seems to be leeching electricity from my mother-in-laws main electrical line. It has been like this for YEARS!

When realizing this, I asked her about her 'spikes' in her electrical bill. She says that she usually sees a spike in her bill, every time there is a new tenant in the store front. 

At the moment, there is NO ONE renting the commercial space.

I whole-heartedly believe that the property manager was aware of the 'electrical leeching' that was taking place. In fact, I have a STRONG suspicion that this commercial space actually belongs to my mother-in-law.

I asked my mother-in-law for a copy of the lease... She lost it.

I plan on obtaining a copy from the property manager tomorrow.

QUESTION:

What can I do in the event the property manager was illegally placing tenants in the commercial space?

What if the commercial space was legitimately rented to a tenant but the property manager rented it on the basis of 'free electricity'? How can my mother-in-law recover her losses from several years of electrical leeching?

NOTE:

I do not live in Dallas.  I am just vacationing here.  If you are reading this and you happen to know of a lawyer that can help me with these matters, please refer them to me. Thanks.

Keywords:

dallas, oak cliff, legal, theft, steal, electric, utility, utilities, commercial, lawsuit, law, crime, criminal,