A tradesman who over-stated his expertise in luxury home building is the architect of the disaster that befell a Sydney homeowner and led to a $2.5 mil cleanup.
Medico Dr Dror Schmuelly and his wife obtained council approval for extensive renovations to transform their Northern Beaches property into a luxury home.
The couple were then introduced to builder Elrob Construction’s whose main man – Elia Boujaoude – painted himself as a specialist in high-end homes, claiming to have constructed bespoke luxury properties in some of Sydney’s most prestigious suburbs, including Palm Beach, Dural, Blakehurst, and Kenthurst.
He showed them — as proof of his craftsmanship – completed properties and provided photos and videos of opulent homes allegedly built under his direction.
On the basis of such compelling social proof, the Schmuellys signed a contract with Elrob in October 2017 for over $1.28 million in renovations.
As construction got underway, the reality quickly diverged from the promise.
Progress was slow, communication deteriorated, and disputes arose over delays, missing designs, and incomplete work.
Even as invoices continued to arrive, work on key components — including windows, joinery, roofing, and pool construction — remained unfinished or defective. By mid-2019, tensions boiled over completely.
Boujaoude abruptly removed scaffolding and fencing from the property while demanding further payments while substantial works remained incomplete.
In August 2020, after protracted disagreements, the Schmuellys terminated the contract.
Litigation soon followed in the NSW Supreme Court.
Dr Schmuelly alleged that Boujaoude had misrepresented both his personal experience and the company’s capabilities to induce them into signing the contract.
When the dispute came before Justice Kelly Ann Rees Boujaoude admitted that his involvement in several of the luxury homes he had showcased was minimal — limited to fit-outs or renovations, rather than full construction as he had led the Schmuellys to believe.
The evidence also exposed extensive construction defects that rendered the partly completed home barely habitable.
Expert reports described widespread failures across the entire build: misaligned brickwork, improperly constructed roof framing, defective joinery, and a swimming pool that required complete demolition and reconstruction due to dangerously exposed reinforcement caused by inadequate concrete cover.
Throughout the trial, Boujaoude — who was self-represented — tried to shift blame back onto the owners.
The court rejected those claims entirely, finding that the delays, defective work, and Boujaoude’s eventual withdrawal from the site amounted to repudiation of the contract on Elrob’s part.
Justice Rees found that Boujaoude’s false statements as to his expertise were far more than sales puffery. They were deliberate and misleading misrepresentations made to secure the contract and that the customers would never have signed the contract had they known the truth.
Independent experts estimated that the rectification work alone would cost nearly $965,000, with an additional $1.57 million needed to complete the construction properly.
The court awarded those sums to Dr Schmuelly as contractual damages. Boujaoude’s cross-claim for unpaid invoices and variations was dismissed in its entirety.
Schmuelly v Elrob Construction Group Pty Ltd (No 3) [2025] NSWSC 118 Rees J, 6 March 2025
