Ten victims of the 2003 boiler explosion aboard the SS Norway say Norwegian Cruise Line hid the fact that it was the subject of a criminal investigation in order to limit how much it would have to pay to settle their claims.The 10 Filipino crew members and their survivors filed court papers Thursday asking a Miami federal judge to allow them to sue NCL for damages for claims arising from its guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge of gross negligence. Eight crew members were scalded to death and 10 others seriously injured when the ship's boiler ruptured. Of the Filipino crew members now pursuing additional claims, six were killed and four were injured. NCL paid $13 million to the victims to settle civil claims for negligence, including about $2.5 million to the 10 Filipino crew members in 2005. Ross Toyne, a lawyer for the Filipino crew members, said NCL concealed its criminal behavior from the court and his clients in the civil action. Had NCL disclosed that there was a criminal investigation, Toyne said his clients would have pursued claims for criminal liability and gross negligence. ''Now we know why [NCL] wanted to get these civil claims settled,'' Toyne said. ''They wanted them to go away and to stop my clients from continuing their investigation into the real facts.'' He added courts have the discretion to revisit claims that have been previously addressed. ''We believe the motion is meritless and will respond in court accordingly,'' NCL said in an e-mailed statement. NCL pleaded guilty to operating the SS Norway in a ''grossly negligent manner that endangered the lives, limbs and property of the persons on board.'' It paid a $1 million fine and $13.75 million in restitution. Following NCL's conviction, a federal judge ordered the cruise line to pay Toyne's clients almost $6 million in restitution for past and future lost income. After the blast, in 2003, the 10 crew members sued NCL in federal court. But U.S. District Judge Patricia Seitz ordered the death and injury claims be resolved through arbitration in the Philippines as required under the crew's employment contracts. The ruling was appealed, but a federal appeals court upheld the decision. Now, the Filipinos want to pursue additional claims in federal court. 'These crime victims' employment contracts were interpreted by this ... court as applying to common negligence claims arising from an isolated act, not part and parcel of a criminal act extending over at least six years,'' the crews' court filing states. Toyne's said NCL's motivation for concealing the criminal investigation was money. He cited a 2005 story by maritime publication Lloyd's List where NCL President and CEO Colin Veitch said that, based on its insurance company's estimate, it saved $100 million in U.S. legal payouts when the appeals court upheld the decision that his clients' claims must be arbitrated.