diff --git a/lib/ansible/module_utils/docker_common.py b/lib/ansible/module_utils/docker_common.py
index 2608fcd6e3..ca46823ff9 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/module_utils/docker_common.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/module_utils/docker_common.py
@@ -90,6 +90,9 @@ if not HAS_DOCKER_PY:
         def __init__(self, **kwargs):
             pass
 
+    class APIError:
+        def __init__(self, **kwargs):
+            pass
 
 class DockerBaseClass(object):