Creating default object from empty value panels.module:1108

I am using Panels from Panopoly 1.40. In the newest update I am having a few different issues. One of the issues I have is with this warning displayed when I clear cache for my environment through drush.
"Creating default object from empty value panels.module:1108 [warning]"

I am not sure what the impact of this warning is, but am curious if others have seen something similar.

The only modification I have to the code in panels v3.7 is the patch here: https://www.drupal.org/files/issues/panels-access-2785915-11.patch
for this issue: https://www.drupal.org/node/2785915