diff --git a/src/cas/generic/casStrmClient.cc b/src/cas/generic/casStrmClient.cc
index 75838a002..0872a0fdb 100644
--- a/src/cas/generic/casStrmClient.cc
+++ b/src/cas/generic/casStrmClient.cc
@@ -532,6 +532,12 @@ static smartGDDPointer createDBRDD (unsigned dbrType, aitIndex dbrCount)
 	if ( ! pDescRet.valid () ) {
 		return pDescRet;
 	}
+
+	//
+	// smart pointer class maintains the ref count from here down
+	//
+	gddStatus = pDescRet->unreference();
+	assert (!gddStatus);
 	
 	if ( pDescRet->isContainer () ) {