diff --git a/src/dom/DomElement.js b/src/dom/DomElement.js
index 60d665c4..c8f5c8c2 100644
--- a/src/dom/DomElement.js
+++ b/src/dom/DomElement.js
@@ -140,11 +140,19 @@ var DomElement = new function() {
 		},
 
 		getBounds: function(el, viewport) {
-			var rect = el.getBoundingClientRect(),
-				doc = el.ownerDocument,
+			var doc = el.ownerDocument,
 				body = doc.body,
 				html = doc.documentElement,
-				x = rect.left - (html.clientLeft || body.clientLeft || 0),
+				rect;
+			try {
+				// On IE, for nodes that are not inside the DOM, this throws an
+				// exception. Emulate the behavior of all other browsers, which
+				// return a rectangle of 0 dimensions.
+				rect = el.getBoundingClientRect();
+			} catch(e) {
+				rect = { left: 0, top: 0, width: 0, height: 0 };
+			}
+			var x = rect.left - (html.clientLeft || body.clientLeft || 0),
 				y = rect.top - (html.clientTop  || body.clientTop  || 0);
 			if (!viewport) {
 				var view = doc.defaultView;