diff --git a/settings.c b/settings.c
index 18e481369..dade03e8b 100644
--- a/settings.c
+++ b/settings.c
@@ -742,12 +742,6 @@ void load_settings(char *section, Conf *conf)
     void *sesskey;
 
     sesskey = open_settings_r(section);
-    if (!sesskey && section) {
-        // some of the code is okay with this being NULL,
-        // but it only happens on error paths and horrifies me
-        return;
-    }
-
     load_open_settings(sesskey, conf);
     close_settings_r(sesskey);