This call adds an error block that gets removed in the next line

I got an empty error div rendered even with a valid value: <div class="form-error"></div>
When I comment this line out I get the expected behavior: something with an error, nothing when valid

    var validationmessages = $('#pcerror');
    $.validate({
        validateOnBlur: true, // enable validation when input looses focus
        errorMessagePosition: validationmessages,
        addValidClassOnAll: true
    });