diff --git a/src/js/index.js b/src/js/index.js
index aea94dc56..2eeae388c 100644
--- a/src/js/index.js
+++ b/src/js/index.js
@@ -214,8 +214,10 @@ app.filter('activeOAuthClients', function () {
 });
 
 // this appears when an item in app grid is clicked
-app.filter('prettyAppMessage', function () {
+app.filter('prettyAppErrorMessage', function () {
     return function (app) {
+        if (!app) return '';
+
         if (app.installationState === ISTATES.INSTALLED) {
             // app.health can also be null to indicate insufficient data
             if (app.health === HSTATES.UNHEALTHY) return 'The app is not responding to health checks. Check the logs for any error messages.';
diff --git a/src/views/apps.html b/src/views/apps.html
index 7cf905eb8..b86500183 100644
--- a/src/views/apps.html
+++ b/src/views/apps.html
@@ -456,7 +456,7 @@
                 <h4 class="modal-title">Error for {{ appError.app.fqdn }}</h4>
             </div>
             <div class="modal-body">
-                <p>{{ appError.app | prettyAppMessage }}</p>
+                <p>{{ appError.app | prettyAppErrorMessage }}</p>
             </div>
             <div class="modal-footer">
                 <button type="button" class="btn btn-primary pull-left" ng-click="appConfigure.show(appError.app)" autofocus>Repair</button>
diff --git a/src/views/apps.js b/src/views/apps.js
index cd6f6a6f0..d42c99759 100644
--- a/src/views/apps.js
+++ b/src/views/apps.js
@@ -537,7 +537,7 @@ angular.module('Application').controller('AppsController', ['$scope', '$location
     };
 
     $scope.appError = {
-        app: {},
+        app: null,
 
         show: function (app) {
             $scope.reset();