Fixed a bug where malformed JSON payloads prevented default param values from returning

        # Try to load as json

        try:

            self.json = request.get_json()  #: dict: Dictionary representation of request JSON

        # If malformed JSON is passed, make an empty dictionary

        except BadRequest as e:

            logging.error(e)

            self.json = {}

            default: Value to return if no matching key-value pair is found.

            convert: Converter function. By passing a type, the value will be converted to that type. **Use with caution!**

        """

        # If no JSON payload exists, return early

        # If no JSON payload exists, make an empty dictionary

        if not self.json:

            return None

            self.json = {}

        if key in self.json:

            val = self.json[key]

        if convert:

            val = convert(val)

        return val