diff --git a/test/integration/component/test_storage_motion.py b/test/integration/component/test_storage_motion.py
index 8ddbebe6374..36376f373bc 100644
--- a/test/integration/component/test_storage_motion.py
+++ b/test/integration/component/test_storage_motion.py
@@ -259,8 +259,11 @@ class TestStorageMotion(cloudstackTestCase):
                               self.apiclient,
                               id=volume.id
                               )
-            if not pools or pools is None:
-                self.skipTest("No suitable storage pools found for volume migration.Skipping")
+            if not pools:
+                self.skipTest("No suitable storage pools found for volume migration. Skipping")
+
+            self.assert_(isinstance(pools, list), "invalid pool response from listStoragePoolsForMigration: %s" %pools)
+            self.assert_(len(pools) > 0, "no valid storage pools found for migration")
 
             pool = pools[0]
             self.debug("Migrating Volume-ID: %s to Pool: %s" % (