diff --git a/libs/pbd/file_manager.cc b/libs/pbd/file_manager.cc
index 4d82e3d112..45f678ee5d 100644
--- a/libs/pbd/file_manager.cc
+++ b/libs/pbd/file_manager.cc
@@ -256,7 +256,6 @@ FdFileDescriptor::allocate ()
 void
 FileDescriptor::set_path (const string& p)
 {
-        assert (!is_open());
         _path = p;
 }