diff --git a/h2o-logger/src/main/java/water/logging/LoggerFactory.java b/h2o-logger/src/main/java/water/logging/LoggerFactory.java
index fd318ad07c8d..61d44630151a 100644
--- a/h2o-logger/src/main/java/water/logging/LoggerFactory.java
+++ b/h2o-logger/src/main/java/water/logging/LoggerFactory.java
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ private boolean isWaterLogAvailable() {
         try {
             Class.forName(waterLogClassName);
             return true;
-        } catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {
+        } catch (ClassNotFoundException | NoClassDefFoundError e) {
             return false;
         }
     }