Pledge (law)

A pledge is a bailment that conveys title to property owned by a debtor (the pledgor) to a creditor (the pledgee) to secure repayment for some debt or obligation and to the mutual benefit of both parties.

No title to a third party purchaser is guaranteed following a wrongful sale except in the case of property passing by delivery, such as money or negotiable securities.

Old English wed, Old French gage, Old High German wetti, Latin pignus depositum), i.e., delivered from the outset, or nonpossessory (cf.

OE bād, OFr nam, nant, OHG pfant, L pignus oppositum), i.e., distrained on the maturity date, and the latter essentially gave rise to the legal principle of distraint.

That contrasts with the general law of mortgages, which allows most mortgagors to sustain a cause of action (sue) on a wrongful sale to restore the property into their qualified ownership if they bring any payment arrears up to date plus reasonable debt collection and legal costs of the creditor.