diff --git a/src/components/viewManager/viewManager.js b/src/components/viewManager/viewManager.js
index 4ceb3b949..e37c87123 100644
--- a/src/components/viewManager/viewManager.js
+++ b/src/components/viewManager/viewManager.js
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ define(['viewContainer', 'focusManager', 'queryString', 'layoutManager'], functi
 
             if (typeof options.controllerFactory === 'function') {
                 var controller = new options.controllerFactory(newView, eventDetail.detail.params);
-            } else if (options.controllerFactory.default && typeof options.controllerFactory.default === 'function') {
+            } else if (options.controllerFactory && typeof options.controllerFactory.default === 'function') {
                 var controller = new options.controllerFactory.default(newView, eventDetail.detail.params);
             }