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Chapter 22. Problem 3BCP0 Bookmark Show all steps: ON Problem Eminent Domain. Some Catholic organizations proposed to build a private independent middle school in a run-down neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They asked the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Philadeliphia to acquire specific land for the project and sell it to them for a nominal price. The land indluded a house on North Eighth Street owned by Mary Smith, whose daughter Veronica lived there with her family. The Authority offered Smith $12,000 for the house and initiated a taking of the property. Smith filed a suit in state court against the Authority, admitting that the house was a "substanbard structure in a blighted area," but arguing that the taking was unconstitutional because its beneficiary was private. The Authority asserted that only the public purpose of the taking should be considered, not the status of the property's developer. On what basis can a government entity use the power of eminent domain to take property? What are the limits to this power? How should the court rule? Why? (See Limitations on Property Rights.) Step-by-step solutiorn