diff --git a/hbase-server/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/regionserver/TestRegionFavoredNodes.java b/hbase-server/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/regionserver/TestRegionFavoredNodes.java
index e152f720839..a56ec4f1169 100644
--- a/hbase-server/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/regionserver/TestRegionFavoredNodes.java
+++ b/hbase-server/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/regionserver/TestRegionFavoredNodes.java
@@ -77,7 +77,10 @@ public class TestRegionFavoredNodes {
 
   @AfterClass
   public static void tearDownAfterClass() throws Exception {
-    table.close();
+    // guard against failure in setup
+    if (table != null) {
+      table.close();
+    }
     if (createWithFavoredNode == null) {
       return;
     }