Short answer. Yes. Article 767 of the Civil Code gives a donor the right to demand from the donee the sum for which donated property was pledged or mortgaged, when the donor cannot recover the property itself from the third party who received it before the revocation complaint was annotated.
What the law says
the donor shall have a right to demand from the donee the value of property alienated which he cannot recover from third persons, or the sum for which the same has been mortgaged
Civil Code, Article 767 — Donor's Claim For Value. Read the full provision →
Why the donor cannot always get the property back
When a donor revokes a donation — whether for ingratitude or non-fulfillment of conditions — the law aims to restore the donated property to the donor. But third parties often complicate that goal. If the donee sold, pledged, or mortgaged the property before the revocation complaint was annotated in the registry, a buyer or pledgee who acted in good faith acquired rights that may be protected. The donor cannot simply wrest the property from someone who had no notice of the revocation. Article 767 addresses this gap.
The substitute remedy: claim the proceeds
When the donor cannot recover the property from the third party who now holds it, the law does not leave the donor without recourse. Article 767 gives the donor a personal right against the donee: the right to demand the value of the alienated property, or — specifically for pledges and mortgages — the sum for which the same has been mortgaged. The claim runs against the donee personally, not against the pledge holder. The donee who pledged the property and pocketed the proceeds must account for them.
How value is fixed
Article 767 specifies that "the value of said property shall be fixed as of the time of the donation." This reference point matters. Property values change — sometimes substantially — between the date of the donation and the date of revocation. The law locks in the value at the moment the gift was made, which protects the donor from a donee who pledged property that had since declined in value but received a different amount. The donor is entitled to what the property was worth when they gave it away.
What the donor should do
The practical sequence is: file the revocation complaint, have it annotated on the title as quickly as possible, and then assess whether the third-party transaction can still be unwound. If the pledge was already in place before annotation and the pledgee acted in good faith, the next step is the personal claim against the donee under Article 767. Documentation of the pledge terms — including the amount the donee received — will be central to establishing the amount owed.