Does the common fund doctrine presuppose that the court has authority to adjudicate the rights and duties of those with interest in the fund?

11 The common fund doctrine also presupposes that the court has "the authority to adjudicate the rights and duties" of those with an interest in the fund, Dawson, supra, note 10 at 1618. Although the beneficiaries need not sue as a class to meet this criterion, United States v. ASCAP, 466 F.2d 917, 919 (2d Cir. 1972), a class action presents the clearest case for the exercise of such judicial authority. The plaintiffs in the suit before us were certified as a 23(b)(1) class under the Federal Rules. No class member could have opted out of such a suit even if he had desired to do so; once the class was certified, no other forum could have adjudicated their rights with respect to the fund.