Bill enters into a contract with Graham, an expert in historical documents, for the purchase of a manuscript of a play by William Shakespeare, called 'Evensong' which they both believed to be in his handwriting. Bill wanted the script for an exhibition and as there are very few original scripts left for the 'Evensong' play; it was essential that the script was an original for that play. Bill believes that people will come to see the script and that it will generate significant income for his exhibition. Bill thinks that, following the exhibition, he could sell it privately and make a considerable profit. After Bill pays for the script and receives it, further investigation confirms that whilst it is a genuine script of the period for the play created by Shakespeare, it had actually been transcribed by a clerk who worked for Shakespeare and as such, is of little monetary value.

(b) Bill wonders what the status of their contract is and if there is any action that he can take against Graham because the script was transcribed by the clerk and therefore, has little monetary value? Explain your answer with reference to case law where necessary. (6 marks)

(c) Would it have made any difference if Graham had looked briefly at the script but did not make further authenticating checks leading to Graham wrongly concluding that it was written by Shakespeare? Graham then tells Bill that the script was 'indeed written by Shakespeare'. How would these circumstances affect any contract that they had together? Explain your answer with reference to case law where necessary. (9 marks)

(d) If Graham had failed to undertake the checks that Bill expected of him, does Bill have any statutory recourse of action under the law of contract and are there any conditions upon Bill being awarded those remedies under those provisions and would Graham have any defence available to him? Explain your answer with reference to statutory provisions. (7 marks)

(e) In light of the facts of the scenario above, what would be the best and most advantageous course of action for Bill to take? Explain your answer with reference to statutory sources and case law where necessary. (8 marks)