diff --git a/core/src/main/scala/kafka/utils/ZkUtils.scala b/core/src/main/scala/kafka/utils/ZkUtils.scala
index c6119d9..90ee2d0 100644
--- a/core/src/main/scala/kafka/utils/ZkUtils.scala
+++ b/core/src/main/scala/kafka/utils/ZkUtils.scala
@@ -419,7 +419,12 @@ object ZkUtils extends Logging {
   def readDataMaybeNull(client: ZkClient, path: String): (Option[String], Stat) = {
     val stat: Stat = new Stat()
     val dataAndStat = try {
-                        (Some(client.readData(path, stat)), stat)
+						val data: String = client.readData(path,stat)
+						if(data != null) {
+						  (Some(client.readData(path, stat)), stat)
+						} else {
+						  (None,stat)
+						}
                       } catch {
                         case e: ZkNoNodeException =>
                           (None, stat)