diff --git a/osm_common/msgbase.py b/osm_common/msgbase.py
index 98f97bf..2b338df 100644
--- a/osm_common/msgbase.py
+++ b/osm_common/msgbase.py
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
     Base Exception class for all msgXXXX exceptions
     """
 
-    def __init__(self, message, http_code=HTTPStatus.INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR):
+    def __init__(self, message, http_code=HTTPStatus.SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE):
         """
         General exception
         :param message:  descriptive text