You could just return a list containing an "No Data" entry:
public ActionResult Index()
{
try
{
ViewBag.PersonList = Helper.LoadPersonData();
if (ViewBag.PersonList == null)
{
ViewBag.PersonList = new List<SelectListItem>()
{
new SelecListItem()
{
Value = "nodata",
Text = "No Data"
}
};
}
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
TempData["Message"] = string.Format("An error occurred. Details: {0}", ex.Message);
}
return View(persons);
}